Heaven Sent
by anthropomorphychan
Summary: Women with brown hair and brown eyes are being kidnapped and then disposed of and Tenten is used as live bait. At the same time, Tenten glimpses things from a forgotten past. Who is she really? Is there more to her than meets the eye? NejiTen
1. Prologue

**Hey there everyone! I'm anthropomorphichybrid and this is my first EVER story. I hope you enjoy reading this. My prologue's probably going to be the longest out of all of my chapters. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto although I wish I did. **

* * *

A five year old girl was running down the soft, brown earth. Her feet, clad in the traditional Chinese slippers, were making a soft pit, pat sound as they made contact with the ground. The girl was wearing a short, navy qipao with golden trimmings on the edges of the sleeves and on the hem. The dress had light blue, plum blossom petals scattered all over, and was just long enough to reach mid thigh, but it had a slit on both sides so she could move around easily. With the qipao, she wore a matching pair of silken three quarter trousers. On her back, she had a small bag that was obscuring her clan's insignia, which was a pair of snow white wings that started from the centre of her spine, the tips, spreading out just far enough to cover half of her shoulder blades. On the centre of each wing was a dragon's eye, its pupils seeming to exude all the hues of the colour blue the longer you stare at it. On the part where the wings meet, lies a coiled light blue-grey dragon made out of ice and steel, its tail dangling down her spine about as long as half the wing span of her emblem. 

She was a pretty little thing with soft, brown doe eyes, a petite stature, cute little button nose, chocolate ringlets in twin pigtails that reached mid back and a mid length, semi-curly fringe to top it off. Her bag contained an assortment of weapons a mere child like her shouldn't be carrying. But she wasn't just a mere child. She was THE child, the heir of the Tianshi clan, first and only born offspring of Lord Dao and Lady Chichi Tianshi.

She was on her way home from the little task her sensei gave her. Being heir to one of the most powerful clans in the world, she has gained the title child prodigy. Even as a mere five year old her skills are almost on par with a chunin but of course she lacks the experience. She was supposed to learn to produce a different chakra arrangement that she could use instead of her clan's one. It had to be one that will work on it's own without the help of her clan's chakra, seem completely ordinary and one that won't reveal any hint that she was from a prestigious clan. Apparently, when they are on ninja missions, they only use their "ordinary" chakra to prevent people from finding out their clan secrets. Only the royal family, high officials and those who have been given a permit can use their unique clan abilities outside the city gates and even then, they only use it when things go really bad. Yes, they are THAT secretive.

She was sent to the Heavenly Forest to do her training just a week ago by her sensei and now she was on her way back to tell her sensei and her parents of her success. Sadly, her celebrations were about to be cut short.

She increased her speed as she was nearing the gates, her lips twitching in silent glee. She couldn't wait to show off. But as she went nearer she noticed something was wrong. There were no guards at the entrance, the gates were somewhat askew and the noises made by the children and the villagers that could usually be heard from a mile were non-existent.

She frowned. 'There must be something wrong.' she thought to herself as she sneaked through the gates.

An iron tang filled her nostrils as she sniffed the air carefully. Her body stiffened. It was blood, no doubt. Suddenly, she heard noises and she quickly dived into a nearby bush. Poking slots into the hedging plant, she peered out cautiously.

Two men wearing black overcoats and large sunglasses came into view. The shorter one started talking. "Where the hell is that kid? The boss will kill us if we don't find that bloody urchin."

"She'll be here. If she went on some errand or something, she'll have to go back here. Patience," the taller of the two replied.

"She better be, or else we'll end up worse than these Tianshis. At least we killed them all pretty damn fast. I can't believe they went down that easily, they're supposed to be "all mighty". Sheesh."

"They are, but we caught them by surprise. Today's that brat's birthday so they were all too busy preparing for a party. The Boss made sure of that."

"Really?" the short one drawled, "Well here's a birthday she'll NEVER forget. I wonder if that kid's mum's dead yet. She was pretty wild after her husband took the hit that was meant for her. She's one feisty woman eh? I hope her kid likes surprises coz this one is especially made for her." He laughed at his own joke.

"Hn," mutters the tall one.

They both walk towards her family's complex.

The girl, released the breath she didn't realise she was even holding. She bit her lip, drawing out a small amount of blood. Tears were threatening to spill but she shook her head stubbornly. Her once warm, brown eyes changed dramatically into wintry, blue ones. They were going to pay.

She took another route towards the compound and slipped into the building. A couple of men wearing the same overcoats as the ones she saw earlier were patrolling the hallway. On their left breast pocket was the picture of a golden eagle, perched on a steel sword with a golden hilt.

'_Huangying Clan! I should've known,' _she thought bitterly.

She created a few hand signs making her hands glow a light blue colour. Frozen water appeared in between her fingers and she slowly shaped it into senbons. With the skill and precision of a weapons mistress, she deftly flicked the needle-like ice towards the men, killing them instantly.

She sneaked into her room and changed into civilian clothes while taking all her weapons and her few prized possessions before moving on to her parent's chamber. She opened her mother's treasure box and took her special kunai. It was a special kunai handed down to her mother by her grandmother going all they back in the past. The blade was made out of pure diamond, and the handle was moulded with silver, designed in the shape of a dragon with sapphire eyes. That kunai was simple, yet elegant and was absolutely priceless. She took her mother's usual garb out of a cabinet and bundled it into her bag. Crossing to the other side of the room she grabbed her father's Herbal Book from under the loose floorboards beneath her father's side of the bed. It contained many of her family's secret healing methods and she wasn't about to share them.

A bloodcurdling shriek filled the air.

"Mum!" she gasped. Quickly, she jumped out of the window and scaled the roofs to where the scream came from. She looked into the room and froze.

Her mother's clothes were ripped into shreds, except for parts of her robe. Her arms were tied with her feet to her back and she was kneeling on the floor. Her shoulders had been dislocated and her whole body was bleeding profusely from the many cuts she received. The man behind yanked her hair and flung her across the room.

Slowly he walked nearer, "How many times do I have to ask you, where is that little bitch?"

Her mother laughed like a maniac and spat on his face. SLAP. His hand connected to her face but she held her head high like the true noble she was.

The child was filled with fury. _'He had no right to touch her. No right to hurt her.' _

Once again, her hands glowed blue and she formed small ice senbons. She eyed all his pressure points and sent all her senbons flying. The man crumpled on the floor.

"Tian Tian!" her mother gasped.

"Mother, I've come to help you." She reached for a kunai and started hacking the rope that bound her mother.

"Oh my dearest child, do not bother to set me free for I am already dying, I can feel it."

"Don't say that, please don't say that," Tian Tian's eyes filled with tears.

"Hush. You must be strong, for you are the last of the Tianshi clan. Do not let them get you. I will not ask you to seek revenge unless you wish to do so but I will ask this of you. Rebuild our clan. Rebuild it to what it was before. Through this, you will avenge us. Do you understand?"

"Yes mother," she answered, holding her head high, no longer crying.

"That's my girl," her mother smiled. "Will you do me one last favour?"

She nodded slowly.

"I want you to kill me and end my suffering."

"But .."

"No buts. You know I will soon join your father but if I do not die now, my suffering will increase. You know how to kill fast and painless and I want you to do it to me now. Remember my child, I will always love you."

"I love you too mum," she whispered and quickly severed her mother's vein with the kunai she was using to hack he rope.

She was gone.

"Aww, how sweet of you to drop by."

Her head shot upright and glared in the direction of the voice and then paled. Nine men from the Huangying clan stood by the door and in front of them was the clan head with his son. It was _Jie-sama and his son Jiu-san. _

She bolted out to the window and ran as fast as she could.

"Follow her!" Jie roared, "Use any means necessary to get her but don't kill her."

The nine men jumped off the window sill and ran after her.

The little seven years old yanked his dad's robe and asked in a haughty voice, "She will be my bride won't she? I mean everyone says I am the hottest guy around and she's really hot too even though she's only a kid and so were bound to be together to get the hottest kids eh dad?"

"Of course Jiu but can we tone down that ego of yours? It's getting on my nerves."

"But, I know I'm all that coz not only am I the clan prodigy, your wives also think I'm a hunk."

"SILENCE child," he snarled, "One more word from you and I'll make sure you don't get you bride."

The little boy whimpered.

* * *

**WITH TIAN TIAN**

She kept running and running but she could feel the others catching up to her. She has to fight them off. She has no choice. She stopped in the middle of a clearing and faced the nine men.

"Giving up so soon girly?" the short man drawled.

But before he could add anything to that, a senbon struck him in an artery. He fell with a thud and the little girl disappeared.

"Shit, where is she?" a man asks.

As if answering his question, hundreds of ice senbons came out from the trees and were heading towards them. Four men were hit directly and died and 3 others were dying slowly.

'_That's 8 down, where's the last one?' she thought._

"Looking for me?" a tall, broad man asked, standing above her. He was hit by some of her senbons but not on any major places.

Suddenly, she couldn't move. She could see that Chakra strings held her and he was manoeuvring her towards him. She had to act fast, the strings were constricting her and it was getting harder and harder to breathe. With the last amount of chakra she had, she produced a kunai and cut the strings holding her.

She leaped towards the surprised man and embedded the kunai into his neck. Blood squirted out, and he fell to the floor.

She was out of chakra. She even used up her other chakra system but she wasn't about to let that deter her.

**

* * *

****5 Hours later**

A man from Konoha was on his way home when he found a little girl curled at the bottom of a tree. She was a grubby little urchin but he took pity on her. Shaking her on the shoulder, she woke up.

"What's yer name kid? And what are ya doing here on yer own? Yer parents are prob'ly worried 'bout ya."

"Ano, I think today's my birthday and I was going to do something about that and um … I think my name means heaven or sky but I don't remember what it is. In fact, I don't remember anything else except those things."

"Well, in that case, I'll call you Tenten."

"Tenten," she mumbled before going back to sleep.

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**So did you enjoy that? I apologise for any mistakes I didn't see. Also, I am not Chinese nor Japanese and the names I used were taken from the internet. If I have used a name that is inappropriate please tell me. P****lease give me a review! Constructive criticisms are accepted.**

**PS: Can someone give me a brief explanation on how to use the suffixes on the names? I would really appreciate this. Thanks. **


	2. Chapter 1  Revelations

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed, I really appreciate the comments and the help with the honorifics.**

**Here's the first chapter, hope you enjoy it!**

**Over and out - anthropomorphichybrid**

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_A young Tenten was walking down a large, vacant hallway. It looked unfamiliar but some part of her recognises this passageway. Suddenly, she heard laughter. It was coming from the door at the far end of the corridor. Curious, she let her feet take her there. She could tell that one of the people laughing was a man from his deep and throaty chuckle and that the other was a woman from her soft, musical laugh. _

_She wasn't really into eavesdropping but she felt rather nosy today for no apparent reason. She placed her ear by door and listened._

"_She should be home soon," the man said in his deep voice, "It takes her about half the time to learn things and I learnt to create my chakra in a fortnight."_

_The woman sighed, "Dao-kun, you realise that she can be quite unpredictable and mathematical statistics won't be able to predetermine how long she learns something. But, I guess you're right about this one. I had Jing-san spy on her and she tells me that she's progressing fast enough for her to be back home today. I really miss her you know. I didn't think that just spending a week without her can bother me, but it does!"_

"_Chichi, honey, she's going to be fine. I know she's only five but with her skills she should be able to fend off most …wayward travellers. Besides, not a lot of people go through that part of the forest anyway."_

"_I guess you're right."_

"_Of course I'm right, I'm ALWAYS right!" he teased._

"_Jerk," she replied and rolled her eyes._

"_Love you too honey."_

_She sighed, "Are you done with the preparations yet?"_

_Eager to hear more, Tenten opened the door cautiously, and peeped in, but she could only see their backs. The man was about half a head taller than the woman and he was wearing a long, navy silk jacket. Tenten could almost see the crest on his back but his long hair, tied at the nape, was obscuring the view. Wrapped in his embrace was the woman. She had a petite frame and was casually leaning her head on his shoulder. Her long, coffee brown hair was unbound swishing away in the breeze that came from the wide open window. _

"_Yes I am, I've checked with the list."_

"_That's good. You seem to be quite efficient when it comes to your daughter," she said, mocking him. _

_Creeaak. The floorboard under Tenten squeaked._

'_Oh no! I'm not supposed to be here," she panicked. She was about to leave only to find out that her body can't move._

"_Don't you know it's impolite to eavesdrop?" Dao asks in a dull monotone._

"_O…Of course. I…I'm really sorry. I d…don't know what came over me," Tenten stuttered._

"_That's what they all say," replies Chichi, "But it's not enough to just say you're sorry. You MUST be punished."_

_Tenten was scared out of her wits but she wasn't sure why. Was it something to do with the way their voices changed from a cheery note to a chilling one or was it to do with the punishment she's about to get? _

_Before she could ponder long, the couple's faces turned towards her._

_She went white as a sheet._

_Instead of a face, they only had the front of their skull. Blood was seeping out of their jaws and the hollows where their eyes should've been. All of a sudden, the scene changed. The nice sunny room disappeared and was replaced by a dark, blood-stained one. Dead bodies littered the floor, their rotting stench filled Tenten's nostrils making her want to puke._

"_We've been waiting for you, Tenten. What took you so long?" Chichi asked in a soft, chilling voice. "If you had come sooner maybe we'd all still be alive. But that doesn't matter because you're here now and you'll soon be one of us."_

_As if one, all the corpses rose and headed in Tenten's direction. She struggled to be free but she was held on invisible strings. _

"_Be one of us!" they chanted, "Be one of us. Be one of us. Be one of us. BE ONE OF US!" On and on they chanted, getting closer and closer._

_She couldn't take it any longer. She opened her mouth and screamed._

Tenten jerked up on her bed, wide-awake from her nightmare. She stood up abruptly, cold feet touching the ground. Looking at her clock she saw that it was already 4.30 in the morning. She went to the bathroom, stripped and then showered; letting the cold water wash away the sweat she had accumulated.

The nightmares had started exactly one month ago, three months before her 16th birthday. Why it had started then, she wouldn't have a clue. The dreams were all the same with minor differences about where it happened and how she got there, but it always ended with her being frozen and screaming.

Hopping out of the shower, she wrapped a towel around herself and then proceeded to brush her teeth and comb her hair. Leaving her toothbrush hanging for a while she skilfully twisted her hair into her signature twin buns. She finished brushing her teeth and then grabbed her usual outfit (the one with the white top and maroon pants) and got changed quickly.

Walking briskly to the kitchen, she grabbed a piece of bread and headed for the training grounds.

Reaching the grounds with one minute to spare, she started stretching while thinking about what happened earlier. Her senses informed her that someone was coming. She looked up.

"Let's begin," she heard Neji say from out of nowhere.

"Well, good morning to you too," she muttered, readying herself for her Sōshōryū.

"Hn."

And once again, they began their daily routine.

**

* * *

7 ½ hours later**

"Tenten, stop," Neji ordered.

Tenten obliged, lifting up an eyebrow, as if to ask why.

"You know perfectly well."

"What do you mean?"

"Since the last 7 ½ hours … correction, since last month, you have been receiving more and more hits from your own arsenal. I've ignored it at first but this is getting out of hand," he answered in monotone although a hint of concern could be heard if you focused closely. "Care to explain why?"

"I …," she started, shocked that he had even noticed even though she had tried so hard to hide the fact.

"Well?" he demanded, glaring at her.

Secretly she was glad that he was asking but she knew that he wasn't concerned about her, he was more concerned about their team dynamics.

She bit her lip, contemplating, _'Should I lie or not? Heck, he would know if I lied so no choice really.' _She looked up and met his eyes.

"Promise you won't tell?"

"Only if it won't affect the team dynamics."

'_I thought so. Inconsiderate jerk." she frowned inwardly._

"Then no. I want you to promise me that you're not going to tell a single soul about this," she answered stubbornly.

To be honest, he was shocked. She had NEVER made a proposition like this. She usually agreed if he said it might affect their team dynamics. It must be pretty bad.

He sighed, his eyes softening just a little, "I promise."

She motioned for him to sit before sitting down herself, "This is going to be a long story you know."

"Hn."

She sighed, "A month ago, exactly three months before my birthday, I've been having the same dream. Actually … it was more of a nightmare." And she told him of the horrors she had to endure.

Neji sat still and listened politely although inside he was mad at her for not telling him.

She finished talking and looked at him. "You promised you won't tell …"

"And I won't," he said, cutting her off. "What I don't understand is why you would have a nightmare about something like that. It's not like you've lived somewhere else other than Konoha, or have you? Wasn't Ryuu-san …" he paused, noticing her uneasiness. "I'm sorry to have to bring this up but I am worr…curious. Wasn't he your father?" _'Damn, I almost said I was worried, I have to have my emotions under better control.'_

She sighed and looked up dreamily, indicating a new story, "When I was five, a man from Konoha found me curled up at the bottom of a tree. He woke me up and then asked who I was," she paused before continuing, "I couldn't remember anything except for my birthday and what my name meant and so he gave me my name, Tenten. That man was Ryuu-san."

He nodded at her, urging her to continue.

"He brought me back to Konoha and had asked around if anyone knew me. No one did and so he became my guardian. He gave me food, clothes, shelter and most importantly, he gave me love. He was the only parent I ever knew and I was very happy, mind you, I was only five and just having those things made me h…happy," she choked and then shrugged casually, "You know the rest. He was killed and I became owner of his house."

A long pause settled over them, neither wanting to talk.

Tenten was avoiding his glance, pretending to be interested on the mushrooms growing underneath.

He didn't expect her to be completely honest with him but he guessed that it was bothering her too much. _'I bet that she would even tell Lee if he came and talked to her first, but why am I bothered by that thought?'_

He shook his head, finally deciding to break the silence, "We should have lunch now. Do want to go and get ramen?"

Nodding absentmindedly, she started picking up her scattered weapons but he stopped her.

"Clean your wounds first; I'll start picking them up."

She blinked, surprise clearly shown in her chocolate orbs but then complied soon enough.

Both worked efficiently and were soon on their way to Ichiraku. They sat down on the seats and then ordered. They ate quietly, their minds in deep thought.

"OH BEAUTIFUL FLOWER OF KONOHA AND MY BIGGEST RIVAL, SO GOOD OF YOU TWO TO BE REGENERATING YOUR YOUTH!" shouted Lee.

Tenten smiled at Lee's antics while Neji just nodded stonily.

Lee looked left and right as if suspicious of someone eavesdropping before bending his head nearer Tenten and Neji's.

"Tsunade-sama has ordered for the Rookie 9 and Team Gai to meet in her office now and I have been sent to fetch you two. Apparently we all have a big A-ranked mission but since most of the jonins are out, they had to make do with one jonin and a bunch of chunins," he whispered.

Neji paid for both their meals and ignored Tenten's questioning look.

"Shall we go?"

"HAI! BY THE POWER OF YOUTH I SHALL … "

Before he gets any further, Tenten cuts him off, "Lee, just take us there now. It would be "unyouthful" to be late."

Neji glanced at her with an amused look.

"OF COURSE! LET US GO NOW IN THE NAME OF YOUTH!"

And he began jumping away with Tenten and Neji in his wake.

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**I hope that it wasn't confusing, ask away if you have any questions.**

**My next chapter might not be up for some time because I'm going away with my Dad on a business trip, I'll try to finish writing it out as soon as possible.**

**Don't forget to leave a review! cheesy grin**

**Ja ne!**


	3. Chapter 2 The Mission

**Hey everyone! Anthropomorphichybrid is back in business.**

**I added a little bit of SasuSaku coz I thought it might be fun. If you don't like SasuSaku I'm really sorry. I know I didn't say that this was humour but I'm going to try my hand at it. I'm not really good at writing humour (coz the only thing I know is how to make pun) but I'm gonna see how this will turn up. I'm hoping it doesn't suck.**

**Hope you enjoy this and please leave a review.**

* * *

The Hokage looked up from the growing pile of papers on her desk. 

"As I'm sure you have been informed …"

Naruto cuts her off by banging the door open, "SORRY WE'RE LATE BAA-CHAN BUT TEME AND SAKURA-CHAN …mmuffleee muffflee."

Sakura blushed before shoving Naruto's headband in his mouth, muffling the noise, while Sasuke grabbed him in a headlock.

A vein popped out on Tsunade's head.

"I'm really sorry Tsunade-sama but Sasuke-kun and I were busy … training and we didn't know that we had to be here. We came as fast as we could," Sakura explained, her face still a bit pink.

Tsunade nodded her head and motioned for the three to stand where the others were.

"Training my ass," Naruto whispered mockingly causing the others to smirk in the direction of Sasuke and Sakura.

Sasuke's face heated up a bit while Sakura looked like one of her namesakes, "Dobe," Sasuke muttered.

Tsunade rolled her eyes, "As I was saying, before I was rudely interrupted, you have been assigned an A-ranked mission. Although, we usually reserve this type of missions for jonins, the jonins in Konoha are… unavailable, putting us into an awkward predicament." _'Bloody jonins leaving town for a bloody get together,' she thought before continuing. "This_ mission is of great importance and I cannot wait before the jonins have returned. Therefore, I have no choice but to give the mission to you, the Konoha 12 seeing as you are next in line, in terms of qualifications. But first, I must receive your acceptance before I give out the details. Do you accept?"

"Hai."

"Very well. I believe you all have heard of the rumour going around about young women being kidnapped for a few days before being left to die in various secluded areas?" she asked.

They all nodded.

"Well, this is no rumour. The numbers of deaths reported have gone up in the last couple of weeks and the areas of the killings have spread out further and further," she hesitated before continuing with a sigh, "Frankly, what I'm trying to say is that it won't be long before they reach Konoha."

The girls stifled their gasps except for Tenten who remained collected like Neji, Sasuke, Shino and Shikamaru. The other guys flinched.

"What we need," she continued, "is to lure the people responsible out in the opens. To do this, we need live bait."

This time, even Tenten exchanged nervous glances with the other girls.

"There are a few things the victims have all in common. They are all young women in between the ages of 14 and 16, have brown hair, brown eyes and are…orphans."

Tenten flinched. She could see where this was going, and so could the others, with the exception of Naruto and Lee.

Then Lee blurted out the obvious, "But that's exactly like Tenten!"

Neji looked at him darkly.

Suddenly, it dawned on both him and Naruto. _'That means …'_

"TENTEN'S THE BAIT?" the two gasped.

Tsunade nodded grimly, "We don't have another person who looks the part and has the skills to defend herself. I CANNOT sacrifice the life of an innocent villager, posing as bait. Tenten, I hate myself to have to ask this of you but I must for the sake of Konoha women. Do you accept the position of live bait?"

Neji clenched his hands unconsciously. _'And sacrificing Tenten's life is okay?' _He wanted to argue but that would mean showing concern. _'The Hyuuga pride? Or Tenten's safety?'_

Before he could ponder long enough to make a decision, Tenten made hers.

"When I applied to become a kunoichi, I knew what I was putting myself into. I know it is my duty to protect Konoha and I won't back down from it. I accept," she stated, making eye contact with the Hokage.

Hinata looked as if she was about to cry. Tenten and she had been the best of friends. She had always looked up to Tenten like a little kid to her big sister. In contrary to popular belief, it was actually by listening to Tenten's encouraging speeches, and not her infatuation with Naruto, that Hinata was able to stand up against Neji. But that's another story.

"Here's your mission brief. You will all be travelling to the Land of the River; it is situated between Konoha and Suna. Shino, your team, accompanied by Neji instead of Hinata, will lead the way. You will leave first to do a survey of the area. You are in charge of installing the surveillance systems. Make sure you do not leave any trace of yourselves. This is crucial to the success of this mission,"

They nodded.

"Tenten, you and Hinata will be travelling an hour after the first team has departed. Make sure you wear the appropriate clothing and that you have memorised your aliases. You will see all this information in this portfolio." Tsunade handed them their documents. "Both of you must pretend that you are just travellers and that you have no clue about the rumour circling around. You and Hinata have spent the last few years travelling around like town-hopping nomads. Make sure you let the villagers **know** you both are orphans, especially you Tenten. Hinata, while you are going with Tenten, make sure that you are completely aware of your surroundings. Whatever happens, DO NOT let them get the upper hand by surprising you. When you suspect something is wrong, notify the others immediately so we can pull you two out before it is too late. Make sure you report to the team leader of your progress."

She shifted her gaze onto the last group.

"Moving on to the rest of you, your task is to be the back up. You will be the last to travel and like the first team, you must not be seen. In this mission you do not exist. You must keep your distance from Tenten and Hinata but close enough to aid them when they are in trouble. I realise that this is a large groups and so keeping a clear track would be a challenge. I trust your better judgement in how you plan on staying undercover. But whatever you do, remain incognito."

Tsunade glanced at all of them, closing her eyes briefly before carrying on.

"Sakura, grab the 5th file on the second drawer of the steel cabinet beside you."

She did as she was told.

"Pass them around; there should be one for each of you. This is the mission in more detail. Refer to this document for any questions. I don't want any of you to be connected to Konoha. Only contact me if there is a SERIOUS problem. I'm assigning Neji as the team leader since he's the only jonin. Shikamaru will be second in command. I wish you all the very best. Team one; you are to depart at 0600 hours tomorrow. You are now dismissed."

The Konoha 12 nodded politely and then left in singe file.

_As the door shut behind the last one, Tsunade gazed outside her window, 'I'm sorry I have to do this to you Tenten, I wish you all the luck in the world._

**

* * *

6.50 in the morning**

Tenten looked at the young woman standing next to her. She wore a beige coloured, long-sleeved classic trekking shirt with the buttons all opened up. Underneath she wore a semi form-fitting white shirt with a purple tank top on top. She had a pair of grey convertible pants and on her feet she wore some low-ankle tramping boots. Tenten smiled at her, nodding her approval. She herself had worn a light grey, short-sleeved trekking shirt that was also open in the front. Beneath that she wore a long-sleeved, striped thermal with a turquoise, semi-fitting, v-necked sports shirt overtop. She had a pair of knee length cargo shorts and thick woollen socks that went mid-calf. On her feet she had donned on a pair of tramping boots as well.

"A…are you ready Ten…ano Ying-chan?" Hinata asks.

Tenten lifted an eyebrow. "Did you just call me annoying-chan, Kari-chan?" she teased.

Hinata, realising what she just said gasped before covering her mouth with a hand. "N...No, n…no, I didn't mean that. I …was …I …," she stuttered.

But Tenten just laughed. "Ignore me. I was just being stupid. Yes, I am ready."

Hinata, recognising Tenten's teasing tone giggled herself. Both laughed for a whole minute before calming down.

"Well, that's a nice way to start a trip don't you think Kari-chan?"

"H…Hai," Hinata agreed. "We should probably go now. i…it is time to go."

Tenten nodded.

Both of them put their packs on before launching themselves on the tree tops.

**

* * *

8am**

"W…we are nearing the Land of River. We should start walking now instead of jumping. T…that way they don't suspect anything," Hinata stated.

"Good point."

They both landed on the ground and started walking towards the village. An odd bird or two would chirp now and again filling in the silence between the two young women. For most people, they would find the silence awkward, but for the two it was normal. Just like Tenten's relationship with Neji, both Hinata and she are able to understand each other with just a simple nod or a look.

Hinata briefly glanced at Tenten before succumbing to her thoughts. _'How can she be so calm? She's the one being used as bait but she's just acting like her usual self. I'm only here as her back up and frankly, I'm scared. Not just for my life but for hers as well.' _

Tenten knew that Hinata had been glancing at her for some time now but she ignored this. She could discern what was on her friend's mind but she couldn't let it sway her from her mission. _'The first time I get to play a big part on a mission, I get to be live bait,' she snorted inwardly, 'Just my luck, some weirdo has decided that they want to kidnap people that look like me. First I start having nightmares and then I get used as bait. Isn't life just great?' she muttered to herself, full of sarcasm, 'I wonder …does my dream have anything to do with this? On one hand it's hard to believe that it's just a coincidence, but on the other hand …'_

"Look!" Hinata's shout snapped Tenten out of her reverie.

Tenten looked up and blinked repeatedly. In front of her was a village very similar to Konoha. But what was once a loud, boisterous village is now a bleak and barren land. There are no children laughing, no townsfolk mingling, no shops in the open with the exception of a pub, a motel and a small, rickety cart selling food. The houses around were silent.

Hinata and Tenten both shared a look before continuing their way towards the ghost of a town.

* * *

**I hope that turned out alright. I tried to get it out as soon as I could but I'm still pretty sleepy. If there were any gramatical errrors and spelling mistakes I'm really sorry. **

**If there's anything you're confused about don't hesitate to ask me. Now I've got to catch up on some school work.**

**Ja ne!**


	4. Chapter 3 A Confrontation

**The pen drive was found - thank God.**

**This will be my last update in a wee while because I have my end of year exams coming up. **

**Wish me luck! And see ya soon.**

**anthropomorphichybrid**

* * *

Two young women entered the pub. One was a shy, demure looking lass, her dark blue hair tied up in a pony tail, while the other was a cheerful, brown haired young woman. The owner of the pub peered through his eyelids, glancing up briefly from behind the counter before continuing what he was doing, sleeping. Abruptly, he did a double take at Tenten before promptly falling off his seat in his disbelief. 

Tenten rushed behind the counter, with Hinata following closely behind, and then helped the middle-aged man up from the floor. "Are you alright mister?" she asked in a concerned tone.

"U…uh, y…yeah, yeah, I…I'm fine," he spluttered. "Say, aren't you worried at all with you having brown hair and brown eyes?"

"Worried about what …um …"

"Call me Ryouta."

"Oh, alright then, what should I be worried about Ryouta-san? What's wrong with having brown hair and brown eyes?"

He looked at her as if she was insane, "Don't you know that there are people who are looking for girls that look like you? Don't your parents tell you these things? Geez, I'm sure you're old enough to know matters like this, I mean, you're roughly what … 15 or 16? Parents these days, molly-coddling their young ones," he said chattering away.

Tenten's face fell at the mention of the word parents. _'No need to feign this look,' she thought inwardly._

Noticing her distress the man stopped talking and Hinata wrapped an arm around her friend's shoulders.

"Are you alright kid? I didn't mean to offend you or anything."

Tenten bit her lip before speaking softly, "I don't have any parents Ryouta-san, nor does my friend Kari-chan. And frankly I've never even had a parent as far as I can remember. It was just me and Kari-chan ever since we were little," she lied.

Ryouta's eyes almost bulged out of their sockets.

"Oh Kami-sama, don't tell me you kids are orphans!"

Hinata and Tenten shared a sidelong glance.

Ryouta swore.

"Well you kids aren't safe around here especially you," he pointed to Tenten, "What your name girl? I know the other is Kari."

"It's Ying, Ryouta-san."

"Right, well how long are you two planning to stay here?"

Hinata answered this time, "W…we were planning to stay here … p…permanently. We've heard so much about the Land of River from our travels. W…we've been travelling all our lives a…and we can never stay put but we both think that since were getting older we should settle once and for all."

"Well you can't. Stay here no more than two days … if you value your life," he snarled.

"Ryouta-san, forgive me for being frank with you, I don't mean to be disrespectful, but Kari-chan and I both have to know this. Why? Why is it that this successful village is now a barren land? Why do you keep on telling us that were in danger, especially me? I don't want to seem pushy but if it is a matter of life and death, I think we have the right to know," Tenten cried, seemingly exasperated.

Ryouta sighed, "It was only a few weeks ago that the Land of River was a prosperous place. It was thriving in every aspect it was capable of, for example, the export of agricultural products, especially the fisheries, jewellery, such as the pearl and many other wondrous things. This was once a bustling town, full of activity and joy … but now," he paused to wipe a stray tear that had escaped his eyes, "But now … the citizens are in hiding. Some have gone away to live somewhere else. Others … have died." "One of those who died was my best friend's daughter. Ever since her parents died, I had taken her under my wing but I've messed up. I promised her father I would watch out for her, like she was my own. She was lovely lass that girl, in fact … she even looks like you," he confessed.

Tenten felt jitters down her spine, _'What the hell have I got myself into?' _She shook her doubts aside and continued her interrogation. "But why," she asked.

"That, we'll never know. All I know is that women all over have been killed just because they look like you. You don't know how much trouble you're in. You fit their requirements from your physical attributes to your … parentage."

Tenten's face paled a notch and so did Hinata's.

He looked at Tenten closely, frowning, "As much as I think you should leave now, I believe it might be too late already. There are spies everywhere and you might be ambushed on your way out," he sighed again, "Against my better judgement you two better stay here with me. I own the motel next door and so you can stay there for free. I'll provide you with food as well if you help me out with the cleaning."

Both girls murmured their thanks and then Tenten spoke up. "If you don't mind Ryouta-san, could we please pay you for the food as well as helping around? It's hard to imagine this, but we both eat quite a large amount of food and we'd feel less indebted to you if we could pay you."

He looked at them strangely before nodding his head to say he agrees. He beckoned them to follow, "Come. We'll go through the side door to get to the motel. We don't want anyone to see you."

They followed Ryouta around the back of the pub, through to the side door joining the pub to the motel. He opened the door of a room with bleached walls. It had a single bed, a small couch and a table. "One of you can stay here while the other can go on the other room adjacent to this one." He opened up the other door to show a room exactly like the first one, just slightly bigger. "I'll leave you to unpack and to do what girls normally do. There's a communal bathroom at the end of the hall," he finished, pointing in the right direction before quickly taking his leave.

Tenten dropped her things on the floor, "Phew. That went well eh Kari-chan?"

"Hai," Hinata replied, dropping her own pack down on the floor as well. "W…we should probably go and tell the others that we've got accommodation now."

"Yeah, we better do that. Hmm, I think we girls can stay in this room and the eight of them can use the bigger room. What do you think?"

"S…sure, I'll go use my Byakugan now to see if ni-san's nearby."

Tenten nodded.

Hinata activated her Byakugan and peered around the bare village. She spotted Neji and her team-mates and quickly deactivated her clan's bloodline limit.

"I…I've seen them. They are positioned at the bearing 166˚, 100 metres away."

Tenten finished writing in a small scroll, nodded and then loosed a kunai with the small scroll attached to it towards the said spot. "I've informed them of our location and our current situation, they should be here soon."

As she finished her sentence, a small tap on the window was heard. They could sense the others' chakra and let them in through the window.

Neji spoke, "The others should be here in approximately half an hour. Kiba, you and Akamaru can go out and meet them in twenty-five minutes. Until then, we'll start the planning, Shikamaru can fix-up any loop holes when he arrives. Hinata-sama and Tenten, you two should go and meet Ryouta-sama, we don't want him getting suspicious."

Both women nodded and then Tenten asked, "Should we bring you guys lunch as well or are you going to find your own food?"

Before Neji could answer Kiba replied, "Wouldn't Ryouta-san be suspicious about that? I mean, you guys don't really eat much and …"

"Chill Kiba, we're supposed to be wandering nomads, it wouldn't be too much of a shock for him to find out that we eat like pigs. Besides, I've already told him that Kari-chan and I eat tons." She then directed her question to Neji, "So do we get you guys lunch or not?"

After a long pause he answered, "Only get as much as you can get away with, no more."

Tenten nodded and left silently with Hinata on her heels, shutting the door behind her.

Neji tore his gaze from the two young women and started discussing possible options with Shino, Kiba and Akamaru.

**With Tenten and Hinata**

The sounds of footsteps alerted Ryouta of Tenten and Hinata's arrival. He lifted an eyebrow. "Well that was fast. Most women take an hour to powder their noses," he told them in a matter-of-fact tone, with his face mocking a serious look.

Tenten and Hinata couldn't help laughing at his antics; his early demeanour had changed into a more cheery one.

He let a small smile grace his lips. "Alright, enough laughing, you girls can help me in the backyard. There are trees surrounding the yard so no one should be able to see you. One of you can rake the leaves; the other can start weeding the garden. I'll be inside cleaning the rooms if you need anything. Follow me."

They both followed Ryouta into the yard. He handed Tenten a rake and Hinata a pair of gloves and a kneeling pad. "If you need anything else, just grab it from the shelf." And then he left them on their own.

They worked and worked and would've still continued if Ryouta had not come and told them that it's already quarter to two. "Geez you girls work hard. Here, I've made you a whole pot of stew and a loaf of wheat bread. You can take this to your rooms if you like, I remember you telling me that you have quite an appetite so you probably wouldn't want me watching you coz you might get embarrassed."

Hinata thanked him whole heartedly and then Tenten handed him some coins.

"No, no, you girls keep your money. You've helped me enough already."

But Tenten insisted that it was only a small gift for the charity they had received. Her persistence paid off with Ryouta blushing at her diplomatic words, grunting and then finally waving them off before leaving himself.

Tenten grabbed a few bowls and spoons and then popped the stew and loaf on a trolley. Pushing the trolley, she followed Hinata towards their rooms.

When they were finally inside the safety of their rooms, Naruto hugged the two women causing Hinata to blush and then praised them for bringing in food. Tenten just rolled her eyes.

Neji wanted to squeeze the life out of the blonde brat for hugging his cousin and his team-mate, especially his team-mate. _'This is no place to lose my head, or Tsunade will make sure that I literally lose my head. Why do I care about her so much? She's just …just a sparring partner."_

They ate silently, except for a few slurps and chomps coming from Naruto and Chouji.

When they were finished, Neji cleared his throat. They all looked up at him. "We've discussed the plans earlier; we now need to inform Hinata-sama and Tenten about those plans. Shikamaru?"

The said person nodded his lazy head towards Neji and then looked at the two women. "We have decided to empty Ryouta-san's water supply so that you would be able to get out into the open. When you inform him that he has no drinkable water anymore, he would have to let you go to the stream to get some more. Once, you're out I want you two to make yourselves standout. The enemy must see you. They must see that you're alone. And most importantly, they must see Tenten. We'll all receive a bug from Shino to remain in contact. Are we clear?"

"Just a question," Tenten answered back, "Who will we have as back up?"

"Neji, Shino, Kiba and Akamaru will be following you from behind but they'll be standing at least 150 metres away. They rest of us will be scouting other locations. We can be contacted through Shino's bugs. Anymore question?"

Everyone shook their heads.

Neji took over once again, "We'll meet back here at 1900 hours. If one group's not back yet then we'll all go looking for that group. Work in the buddy system and if you can't, go in threes. Let's go."

Everyone left to do their tasks.

Hinata and Tenten quickly washed the dishes before telling Ryouta about his water supply. He said to them that he was going to get the water but they told him that they'd like to do it as extra payment for their stay.

_He frowned,_ _'That girl is so much like my best friend's daughter, and I feel as if I have a moral obligation to keep her safe. Even Kari feels like my own daughter. I'm growing soft.' _He let them go against his will but told them to be back by 7pm and he watched them walk towards the stream carrying a large, empty barrel between them.

As soon as they were out of sight, the two young women sped away towards the stream and then filled the barrel with fresh water. They left it against a tree before meeting up with Neji and Hinata's team mates.

"Be careful," Kiba told them solemly as Akamaru barked the same thing. Shino just gave them a small nod.

"Are you two ready?" Neji asked.

"Hai," they said before setting off roughly 200 metres away from them.

"Let's go," Neji finally said and they followed closely behind them.

It had been over three hours but no one was there. Every single one of them was alert and wary. Although there was no sign of any 'kidnapper' they still trudged on, getting deeper and deeper into the forest. Hinata was starting to get tired. She had the least stamina out of all of them unlike Tenten who was one of the toughest thanks to her rigorous training with Neji. The moment Hinata's shoulder relaxed, a small, sharp object came whizzing towards her. Hinata didn't even notice it, but Tenten did. In a desperate attempt to save her, Tenten pushed Hinata aside and was hit by the weapon instead.

"NO!" Hinata screamed, immediately grabbing Neji's attention.

"Shit," he swore and raced towards the two women, Hinata's team-mates followed closely behind but before they could lend a hand to Hinata and Tenten, they were held back by some men wearing black overcoats and large sunglasses. Unfortunately for Neji and his comrades, these men are trained well and are on par, if not more, with them in terms of skill and they will be keeping them busy for some time.

"You IMBECILE!" roared an 18 year old man. He had long hair that was golden at the top and darkened to the colour of a tangelo towards the ends. His hair was tied tightly right at the back of his head, the rest of his mane swishing smoothly from side to side down his back. He had a fringe that almost covers half of his face, giving him a mysterious yet alluring look. He held himself like royalty, and dressed like one too. "Is it really that hard to follow orders?" the young man bellowed, "I said to aim for the purple-haired girl and to keep the brown haired one for ME."

Hinata cradled Tenten in her arms. Tenten was stuck by a device that seemed to have contained some sort of poison that was slowly draining Tenten's chakra, paralyzing her immediately.

'_I can't let them get her. It was my fault that she was hit in the first place so they'll have to go through me first.'_ She stood in front of Tenten, eyes fully activated.

"Well, well, well," the young man murmured, "we have a Hyuga in our presence, too bad you're no match for me." With a single smirk and a flick of a hand, Hinata was sent crashing into a tree with Tenten hurtling after her. Tenten hit her head on one of the trees, possibly giving her a concussion. "Oops, my bad, I didn't know I was that strong," he smirked and then casually walked closer to Hinata's almost unconscious body. "Just because you're not my type doesn't mean that I can't play with you first. Now what should we do with you, my pretty?" he purred at her as he stroked her porcelain face.

"Nothing Jiu, absolutely nothing," an icy voice spoke from beside him. He turned around and froze, locking his hazel eyes with some wintry, blue ones."

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed that. I'll see you's after my exam.**

**Please review.**

**Ja ne!**


	5. Chapter 4 Face Off

**I've been studying all fricken week and I think I deserve a break. **

**One whole day of writing out chapter 4. I hope this doesn't seem rushed.**

**I'm sitting 26 papers (6 subjects) this coming week so I won't be able to update for a wee while once again.**

**I'd really appreciate it if I could get over 50 reviews by the time I get back. Wish me luck! and hope to get your reviews and comments soon.**

**anthropomorphichybrid**

* * *

Jiu regained his composure and matched Tenten's icy glare with one of his smouldering looks, but inside he was worried. _'Not only has she remembered how to activate her bloodline limit, she has also managed to neutralise the harmful toxins within her body by triggering one of her clan's unusual abilities. Father told me that she should have no recollection of her old life whatsoever, so, how is this possible…'_

_Flashback_

'_That's 8 down, where's the last one?' she thought._

"_Looking for me?" a tall, broad man asked, standing above her. He was hit by some of her senbons but not on any major places. _

_Suddenly, she couldn't move. She could see that Chakra strings held her and he was manoeuvring her towards him. She had to act fast, the strings were constricting her and it was getting harder and harder to breathe. With the last amount of chakra she had, she produced a kunai and cut the strings holding her. _

_She leaped towards the surprised man and embedded the kunai into his neck. Blood squirted out, and he fell to the floor. _

_She was out of chakra. She even used up her other chakra system but she wasn't about to let that deter her. But little did she know what had just occurred …_

_The man slowly reached within him for the last reserves of his chakra. Gradually, he managed to form a small, golden chakra eagle and sent it off to Jie before he died, with the message, 'The girl has escaped but I have injected her with the Memoria damnum venenum.'_

_At the Tianshi's complex, Jie murmurs, 'Perfect.'_

_End of flashback_

And then it clicked. _'Of course! It was because of her collision with the tree. Well, no matter, I will be more than a match for her. The last time she had used clan's jutsus was when she was still a mere 5 year old. I on the other hand, being the clan prodigy, have been perfecting my skills in the last decade or so. This shouldn't be too much of a problem. This is nothing but a mere child's play, compared to what I have been put against in the last few years. She __will__ be my bride and my newest toy to play with. '_ Slowly, his look changed, gaining a perverted exterior as he looked Tenten from top to bottom, not bothering to disguise the fact that his gaze rested too long on her assets. After checking her out he smirked malevolently.

Tenten frowned at his obvious behaviour and slowly lifted herself up from her crouching position. The impact on her head caused many, if not all, of her repressed memories to be finally revealed to her and during that brief moment after her contact with the tree and before Jiu had reached Hinata, her clan's spirits had visited her, enlightening her with many of her clan's clandestine abilities.

"Ah, Tian Tian, you turned out looking better than I had expected. Come with me now and I will make sure that your … assets are well looked after."

"And you think I'm stupid enough to go along with you? Bullshit," she stated impassively with just a hint of venom in her words.

Jiu flinched unintentionally at the tone of her voice but continued nevertheless, "Tut, tut, tut, such language does not suit someone of noble birth such as you, ne? Come with me Tian Tian and marry me like what was intentionally proposed by my father to your parents. I realise our parents had some … misunderstandings which caused the destruction of your clan. I would advice you not to make the same mistake."

Although Tenten kept a poker face, inside, it was a completely different matter, the anger within her that had once been forgotten and suppressed had been freed, releasing all the boiling rage within her. She let this fury flow through her like Mount Vesuvius' lava, coursing through all of Pompeii. _'So this is what my parents died for? They rejected the Huangying's proposal and ended up being killed because of me? They're going to pay …dearly'_

"And besides, you wouldn't want this poor wee soul to die, do you?" he asked in his husky, seductive voice as he pointed a golden kunai at Hinata's throat. "Just to piss you off a little bit more, why don't we add their lives in this bargain too," pointing at Neji, Shino, Kiba and Akamaru, who are all tied up in chakra string, bloodied and bruised in the arms of the enemy. "So let's see, their lives, for your hand in marriage. What do you say, Tian Tian? I accept the terms, do you?" _'Gotcha now," his smirk widening a bit more._

As the three male Konoha shinobis and Akamaru were brought towards the clearing, mixed reactions erupted from them.

'_What the …I thought her eyes were brown?' Shino wondered incredulously, his condition currently forgotten._

_Neji's stony façade wavered, as he couldn't help but to stare at Tenten in shock. Her usually cheerful, innocent and clear brown eyes had suddenly transformed into this cold, unforgiving, ice-cold fortress, with all her emotions neatly hidden behind strong barriers. 'She looks just like …me, devoid of any emotion. What happened to her? What happened to the woman I lo …no, I can't think of her like that. Stay strong Neji, stay strong and be alert,' he thought, chanting it like a mantra in his head._

While Kiba and Akamaru just gaped at Tenten with the utmost shock.

Tenten calmly returned their gazes, giving them a nod of acknowledgment before looking back at Jiu and returning his smirk with one of her own, deadlier ones. And then she muttered, "Oh I accept all right." Jiu blinked back in disbelief. But before he could even reflect on why she had done so, a bright green light showered the glade. This distracted the Huangying men, giving the Konoha shinobis enough time to break out of their bonds and turn the tables around. Neji and Shino killed two each while between Kiba and Akamaru, they killed three. But it was not over yet. Jiu and Tenten's bodies were transported right in the middle of the dell, with the green lights acting as the fence for their arena.

Jiu's face ashened immensely as he realised what she had just done and what he had unwittingly agreed on. '_That goddamned bitch, I'll show her. No one messes with Jiu. No one. _His hazel eyes slowly turned into a deep gold and he gave her one heck of a glare. "You think you're so smart don't you," he snarled, "When I said, I agreed, you used that to your advantage, activating the Entrapment Seal making it seem that I agreed to a fight to the death instead of your hand in marriage, therefore ending up without breaching the Entrapment's code of conduct, because technically, I agreed to this. By doing this you were able to transport the two of us away from that white-eyed bitch so I wouldn't be able to kill her, while your friends over there took advantage of the "pretty lights" that distracted my men." He laughed manically, "But you're forgetting something Tian Tian. It doesn't matter that you came from a prestigious clan because you haven't used any of your clan's jutsus in the last ten years, giving me a hell of an advantage. I never thought you were one to commit suicide."

Meanwhile, the Konoha shinobis reached Hinata, Neji started on the healing while Shino contacted everyone else. They were all distracted by what just happened. And frankly, the green lights were freaking them out since none of them knew anything about this thing called an Entrapment Seal. Questions were building up inside each shinobi about who Tenten was, why that guy wanted her and many other unanswerable queries. Who knew that there was more to Tenten than met the eye.

With Tenten, she looked at Jiu casually and said, "I'm not. I DON'T plan to lose." And she slid into her fighting position.

"You have a death wish, I see," he drawled, "well, you'll meet your maker and your family soon enough," he replied as he crouched into his.

Without any warning, both parties moved in a speed that would put both Gai and Lee to shame. Blows were traded one after the other in a tirelessly, unending pace. They circled each other, moving with the elegance of a feline predator, one moment going in, and the next moment flitting out.

Neji was distracted once again but this time by their display of gracefulness. He had never seen anything like it and he couldn't tear his eyes off them, but he had to take care of his cousin. That was his priority as a branch member. He tore his gaze away from the fight and concentrated on systematically checking over Hinata using his Byakugan. Shino, Kiba and Akamaru gazed helplessly at the battle, their minds entranced by the swift grace in which the two individuals fought in. As the rest of the Konoha shinobis arrived, they noticed the raging battle happening within the borders of a green light. The fight was too fast for them to see and even Sasuke's Sharingan and Lee's eye for fast movement, they only managed to see glimpses of the tussle.

Naruto glanced around, his gaze finally landing on Hinata's fallen body. "HINATA-CHAN!" he shouted as he ran towards Neji, Shino, Kiba and Akamaru. He kneeled beside Hinata and grabbed her hands in his. He gazed up at Neji with a worried look and asked in an unusually hushed voice, "Will she be alright?"

Neji was shocked beyond measure. Never in all the years he had been with the blonde boy had he ever seen him speak with such … concern and feeling. Maybe the kid wasn't that blind at all. He answered calmly, "She's just had a bad blow but I don't think she has damaged any vital organs or broken any bones. A concussion at the most I assume but I'm no medic-nin. Go ask Sakura to come and take a look at her."

And Naruto was gone in a flash, dragging a rattled Sakura behind him. Sasuke was shooting him dark look but he ignored him as he made his way towards Hinata.

Sakura knelt by the fallen girl and started her examinations.

Neji decided that since Hinata was in good hands, he would go and watch the fight against his team mate.

Jiu managed to make the first contact. He feigned to one side, dodging a blow, grabbed the protruding arm and sent Tenten crashing on her side. But Tenten wasn't about to let him get away with it and so when he flipped her over, she managed to keep on holding onto him, and using her momentum, she tossed him overhead. He landed a few feet away from her giving her time to get back up to shower him with an assault of quick jabs. Jiu managed to dodge some of them but not all. Finding an opening, he hit her on the abdomen, sending her airborne.

The others gasped, while Lee screamed, "DON'T LET THIS UNYOUTHFUL MAN BEAT YOU IN YOUR YOUTHFULNESS! YOU CAN DO IT TENTEN-CHAN!"

Jiu didn't waste any time at all. He unfurled his hidden, golden bird-like wings, flew high up in the sky, made a few hand seals and then spun rapidly mid-air launching a volley of golden lightning bolts in the shape feathers, heading straight towards Tenten crashing body.

Neji's world seemed to have stopped. The others held their breath in disbelief. "No," Neji whispered softly, his heart shattering into tiny pieces.

A cloud of dust surrounded Tenten's body, hiding her from prying eyes. "Well, that was easy," Jiu drawled.

Neji's anger was going overdrive. He wanted to smash Jiu into pieces, to tear him apart, to bury him alive, to stab him to …to … to do something in the honour of Tenten, but his body won't obey him. His body was frozen and he was unable to move.

The dust clouds started to settle and they were starting to be able to see through the dust clouds. Neji's stomach lurched, he couldn't bear to see Tenten's body, disfigured and out of proportion but he couldn't look away. But to everyone's astonishment, it was not a lump of unrecognisable entity that they saw, but a large cocoon-like silhouette.

"No! T…this is impossible. I…it can't be," Jiu faltered.

The cocoon-like silhouette they saw was actually a pair of wings that acted as a shield to the person within. The ivory wings had a steel-like quality and a pale-bluish sheen that sparkled when the sun hits it at an angle. The wings unfolded, and Tenten stood up, unscathed, gazing calmly at Jiu. "Was that all you've got?"

* * *

**Sorry for the cliffy. I was starting to get really tired, well, my fingers were.**

**Constructive criticisms accepted. **

**Please review!!! It would really make me happy to see my email filling up with reviews after I've just endured hours, and hours of exams.**

**PS: Can I ask someone what flames are? I suck at fanfiction lingo. Ta!**


	6. Chapter 5 Confessions

**Exams are finally over for me, phew!**

**Thanks to the following people who gave me a review on Chapter 4. **

**Kratos Wilder **

**Ishasuki Mitochi **

**Nerd4eva **

**mappsgo **

**whitephoenix13 **

I.heart.Hatake.Kakashi

You guys really made my week!

**Sadly, I did not make the 50 reviews I wanted but we can't always get what we want, eh? sniff**

**I apologise for taking longer to update, these exams really took their toll on me.**

**I hope you enjoy my new chapter (and I'm sorry if you don't like ShikaIno because I added a little bit of this towards the end). PLEASE REVIEW!**

**anthropomorphichybrid**

**(Oh! And there's also a really little NaruHina as well.)**

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Jiu recovered quickly and a sneer was plastered on his face, marring his handsome features. "You think you're so tough don't you? Well, you're nothing more than a snivelling little girl. You're weak and useless. You're parents were probably only too happy to leave you," he spat. 

Tenten remained unmoved. "Stalling won't do you any good. You're just prolonging the inevitable."

"Alright, shall we take this above ground then?"

"Doesn't matter because you're going down Jiu. Down in hell where you belong."

Both individuals launched themselves airborne, attacking with more ferocity than ever before and if it were possible, a swifter pace as well. Tenten's hands had radiated a bright blue light, forming an ice staff where there was once nothing. Jiu matched her chosen weapon with a staff of his own. It had electric currents flowing through the middle of his staff's amber-stained glass body.

When both weapons clashed, the result was an earth shattering vibration. The shock ran tremors on the earth creating small ripples on the once even surface. The aerial warfare continued relentlessly, neither individual wanting to cave in. You could see both fighters sweating, their bodies shuddering at every impact, their muscles straining to last that little bit more.

_Jiu looked tense, 'Shit, I won't be able to last any longer. I've got to end it now.' _Suddenly, Jiu's body started glowing yellow and everyone could see electrical energy building up within him.

Tenten realised that if she didn't break away immediately from their close ranged combat, she would get the biggest shock of her life – literally. She could see Jiu smirking and she knew that it was impossible for her to break away in time. There was only one thing she could do but was she ready to do just that?

'_This is all or nothing,' she thought before she radiated a bright turquoise colour. _She took many deep breaths, willing her body temperature to go down to almost subzero. She increased their pace a little bit more, slowly taking from Jiu small amounts of chakra for her to use. Ice started forming around toes, quickly surging up towards the rest of her body, creating a magnificent suit of armour. She formed a dozen extremely fine chakra strings filled with tiny metallic compounds and carefully, attached these onto Jiu. Jiu was concentrating on building enough power to shock Tenten that he didn't notice what was happening.

All of a sudden, he released all his pent up power, sending 1000v of pure, live electricity to Tenten, who was barely able to complete the head covering of her suit. Tenten felt the jolt running through her system, the feeling was absolutely intense. For a few seconds, she stopped breathing; her body had become numb and unfeeling. She plummeted down but at least she had enough sense to use her wings to slow down her landing, but the ground was still a long way away. But to Jiu's disbelief, it was not only Tenten who received the blow; he also managed to share half of the 1000v of energy. The jolt paralyzed his wings, preventing him to fly away to safety. He crash landed on a shoulder, dislocating it with a sickening snap, causing him to scream in absolute pain and agony. Tenten recovered soon enough. She had saved herself by using ice to insulate her body. Her body had tiny fragments of steel coming from her mother's side of the family and so she would've died immediately had she not also redirected half of the current to Jiu by connecting both of them together using her metallic chakra strings. But in doing so, she had sacrificed, most, if not all of her clan's special chakra.

'_It's a good thing I have two chakra systems. I don't know how to thank you Jing-san,' she thought, looking back fondly at her old memories before getting ready for her final blow._ She stood up tentatively, her body, slowly regaining feeling. She glared at Jiu who was struggling to get up.

To everyone's amazement, Jiu still had the nerve to produce a snide comment – but a weak one for that matter. "Wa … was that the be…best you could do?" he panted.

Tenten ignored him completely, concentrating solely on the remains of her chakra. She detached her spirit from physical form and soared towards the source of her power. Without warning, she snapped out of her motionless trance, glared once at the pathetic excuse for a prodigy, before launching into her signature attack, with a slight twist. Her ice suit had already broken and had started to melt and so she was able to grab both her scrolls with ease. "Say your prayers Jiu," she muttered as she propped the two scrolls right beside her before whispering, "Twin Rising Dragons Metallic Blizzard." She flew up, spinning in a fast motion while her scrolls spiralled around her. Reaching the highest point of her manoeuvre, her top-like motion gained more speed and before everyone knew it, the whole of the green arena was filled with a flurry of metallic snow.

Neji and the others could not see what was happening within. Even Neji's Byakugan was unable to pierce through the thick layers of snow. They all knew that Jiu did not have any chance of surviving at all but does Tenten have enough chakra to perform her feat without putting herself in mortal danger? They'll find out soon enough.

The pure white snow was tainted with blood, producing a rosy hue in some areas of the blizzard. Out of nowhere, a limb had flung itself across the green walls. It was almost unrecognisable for the skin had mostly peeled off leaving only what was underneath. The muscles on the fingers were twitching a bit and frozen blood had formed on the severed part. Ino had paled immensely, almost falling down if Shikamaru had not caught her. Another body part had come crashing into the walls. It was Jiu's head. His eyes were wide open, shock clearly displayed in face. His once handsome face was now completely deformed; his hair had been hacked all over the place giving him bald patches everywhere. Veins were hanging down his severed head making him convulse now and again before the snow had enveloped him once again. The male shinobis were too proud show their fear and Sakura had many experiences with death already and so the contorted anatomy did not get much of a reaction from them except for a repulsed look. But they were all glad that the head was now gone, but by now Ino had started shaking in fear. No one noticed this except for Shikamaru who had caught her already earlier.

Ino hugged her herself, biting her lip to stop herself from whimpering. _'How can Sakura stand this? Am I really that weak?' she asked herself. _She was in distress. Hell, she was terrified, absolutely scared like shit. A lone tear had fallen down her cheek and she tried to wipe it away but her hand wouldn't allow her for it was shaking too much.

Shikamaru was aware of this and he sighed to himself muttering a quiet 'troublesome woman.' He wiped away the tear and pulled Ino closer to him, hugging her and whispering words of comfort.

Ino stiffened, her eyes widened in shock. She wanted to push him away and tell him that she's perfectly capable of handling this herself but she had realised that she was weak. Too weak to do anything but accept what he had done in good graces. She caved in, cried and hugged him back. Shikamaru's cheeks had glowed a faint pink but held her tighter nevertheless. Sakura looked over at them, managing to smile a small smile before looking back to the grim events that had just happened.

The green light flushed a faint red before slowly fading away. The blizzard lingered for a few more seconds before gradually ceasing to a stop. A barely airborne Tenten glanced over to her friends with a preoccupied expression, as if she was not seeing what was supposed to be there. Finally, her eyes were slowly brought to a close and her body came hurtling down in a startling speed. Without thinking, Neji raced towards Tenten's falling body, catching her just in time. He looked at her, worry etched in his face. He felt for her pulse. It was weak. The others had come running towards them with Hinata in Naruto's arms and a shaken Ino hanging onto Shikamaru's hand. Sakura immediately knelt down beside the unconscious girl, examining her on the spot.

Sakura paled, "She barely has a pulse. We need to get her to a hospital quick. She needs medical attention now."

"The village has no medical facilities to help us out," Shikamaru started, "We've scouted the premises earlier. But, there are still people around. Hopefully they have some medic-nins left. Although, it's only an hours trip back to Konoha, we could try … "

"No," Neji replied in a commanding voice, "She barely has a pulse and like what Sakura said, she needs to get medical attention as soon as possible. Kiba, Akamaru, Chouji and Shino, I want you four to go back to Konoha to report back on our current situation. Leave us with a bug so we can communicate with you four. The rest of us will head off back to the motel. We'll go and explain ourselves to Ryouta-san and hopefully he can provide us with some medication." With a nod, he sent three shinobis and Akamaru away. He carefully lifted Tenten up and carried her in his arms bridal style. "Lee, I want you to lead the way. Clear the way for us and head for the motel."

With a downcast yet solemn inclination of his head he headed off without a single referral to the word youth. The shinobis launched into the trees without a word.

'_Hang on Tenten. Please …for my sake, hang on,' Neji prayed silently. He clenched the fabrics of her cotton shirt tightly trying to focus solely on the way ahead but he could not keep his thoughts away from her serene face. 'Why do I feel angry at myself for letting you get hurt? Why did I hate him for hurting you? And why did I want to hurt him for hurting you? I've told myself countless of times that you're __just__ a team mate … but you're not. Oh God, I'm in love with you,' he scoffed at himself inwardly, 'You were never __just__ a team mate. I've always loved you. I've always been in denial, I know. God, I'm delusional. I think I'm also insane. Why the hell would I be talking to myself about the thing I vowed never to be involved with? I love you Tenten, I love you. Please, don't leave me.' _And with that final thought, he added an extra burst of speed to keep up with Lee's intensified pace.

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**I apologise for making Neji a tad OOC (maybe a tad is an understatement).**

**(This is what happens when an 'aspiring' author gets cooped up in a stuffy room, filled with of silence, test papers, a grumpy teacher, a loud ticking clock and the rest of your class... absolute brain damage.)**

**Please leave me a review, would totally appreciate it. Constructive criticisms accepted with an open heart.**

**Ja ne!**


	7. Chapter 6 Complications

**I apologise for not being able update as fast as I usually do. Unfortunately, due to unforseen events and end of year festivities I was unable to do any writing.**

**Thank you so much to those who gave me a review. I cherish any comment (as long as it's not a flame).**

**Special thanks to Aireonna for giving me a valid criticism. I've tried to drag my story a little bit so it doesn't seem as rushed. I hope I've done ok. **

**Now I hope you enjoy this Chapter!**

**Reviews are most appreciated**

**morphy **

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Hinata could feel herself bouncing along, all tucked up in a nice and safe blanket. She wondered whether she was dreaming or not. Soon, her eyes fluttered open only to realise that she was being held by none other than Naruto, the boy she had been crushing on since eons ago. She blushed immensely. She tried to speak but her voice came out dry and croaky and she ended up coughing instead. 

Naruto's eyes widened open, "Hinata-chan, you're awake! A…are you alright? Are you hurt? Are you comfortable?"

"A…ano, I'm fine N…Naruto-kun, but where is Tenten-chan?" she asked, worried about her friend. She had been unconscious for most of the time and she no idea what had occurred in the last half an hour or so.

Naruto's face darkened, his lips set in a grim line. "She's up front. Neji's carrying her."

Suddenly, Hinata seemed to have lost her timidity, "WHAT HAPPENED TO HER?"

Naruto blinked at her sudden outburst and other people in their party looked their way. She blushed again, a deep crimson spreading across her cheeks.

The silent men nodded at her in greeting before facing the front once more.

Naruto replied, "She fought the Jiu guy, you know, the one with blond and orange hair." Hinata paled. Naruto noticed this and reassured her immediately, "Oh don't worry Hinata, Ten-chan beat him up real good. They fought hand to hand and then they did some really fancy moves. It was totally awesome. Did you know Ten-chan had wings? Well she did! And so did the other guy. They had this totally awesome as aerial combat, you should've seen it!" he continued animatedly.

"W…what happened to Jiu?"

"Err … do you want the really gory and detailed explanation or just the basic gist of it?"

"Um … the b…basic gist would do Naruto-kun."

"Okay, well then he died. Ten-chan killed him but she ran out of chakra, I think, so she fell after performing her Twin Dragons Rising Jutsu thing and then Neji caught her just in the nick of time."

"Oh," she replied before asking once more, "S…so how is Tenten-chan's situation?"

Naruto looked slightly troubled, "Well, to be perfectly honest … she's not doing too well. Sakura-chan said she had a really weak pulse and that she needs medical attention quick. We should be back in the village soon but Shikamaru said that they didn't really have any medical facilities. But don't worry! We all know Ten-chan and she can be pretty stubborn. She's not gonna give up this quickly, she's going to fight for her life eh Hina-chan?"

"Hai," Hinata affirmed but then blushed slightly at the new nickname.

"You don't mind me calling you that do you …Hina-chan?"

"No …a…ano I mean yes, no … I mean no I…I don't mind and yes you c…can call me that."

"Arigatou Hina-chan!" he replied cheerily.

"Um … N…Naruto-kun?"

"Hm?"

D…do you m…mind putting me down? I…I think I c…can walk on my own."

"… Oh yeah …., sorry Hina-chan!"

The rest of the journey was quiet except for the odd bird call or two and of course the harsh breathing of the tired shinobis. Night had fallen, and because they were quite deep into the forest their path was even darker. Arm-like branches that hang loosely from giant trees seem to tower over the young shinobis as they trudged on non-stop through the seemingly endless, non-existent path.

Neji was too preoccupied with carrying Tenten that he didn't notice the fact that Lee was acting strangely. Not once had he talked about the joys of youth or even shouted for that matter. Neji had put his trust completely on Lee since, believe it or not, Lee has the most amazing memory amongst them all. He could easily remember paths and such … when he paid attention. Suddenly, a twig snapped and Neji snapped out of his reverie. He didn't say anything but he realised that the forest was quiet, too quiet. He also become conscious of the fact that he couldn't hear any of the others footsteps. He became wary. All too soon Lee stopped, before turning around to face Neji, his eyes ablaze. His once ebony eyes became amber and a look of malice could be seen underneath.

"Lee …," Neji started, only to be cut off by a voice he knew could not … should not exist.

"Zip it blind boy," Lee hissed.

Neji didn't even flinch.

"You're the smart one eh? Well, I'm sure you can guess who I am, can't you?"

"What you have done with Lee?" Neji replied in monotone, his Byakugan activated, trying to penetrate through Lee's chakra system, "You better tell me now before I do something to you that you will surely regret."

"You're one to talk. Don't you see, I"VE got the upper hand here. You've got a dying person obstructing you and I'm in the body of one of your comrades. Will you really do something that I'll regret while I'm in your buddy's body?" the Lee like thing sneered.

With a heavy heart, Neji carefully laid Tenten's body down on the ground. While still keeping an eye on Lee, he started positioning some foliage under her, cushioning her bruised and battered body. _'I'll make this quick Tenten, I'll be back for you. I'll even try not to hurt Lee … too much.' _He raised himself up elegantly, Byakugan focused solely on the Lee impostor. "I don't know how you did it but this is one thing I know. You will die … Jiu."

"Aww, you're ruining all the fun you spoilsport. Aren't you even curious as to how I managed to escape my death? I mean, you did see all my guts spurting out and my head getting chopped off didn't you? Or were you too much off a sissy and closed you eyes while your girlfriend worked her tight little butt off?"

To be perfectly honest, he was curious to know but he's not about to lose his pride by voicing that out. In a guarded manner, Neji sized his opponent up before sliding into his Gentle Fist Style, ignoring everything that Jiu had implied, although, he was extremely irked about the tight little but comment.

"You really don't seem to care … hm … oh well, I'll tell you … "

But before he could finish, Neji attacked him. But somehow, he retained Lee's agility and dodged just in time.

"You have no respect do you? Haven't your parents taught you any manners? Don't you know it's rude to interrupt?" Jiu remarked while constantly dodging every single one of Neji's jabs.

Neji did not voice out a reply but made his attacks quicker and more precise, but still, none reached Jiu.

Jiu continued talking, enjoying his psychological torture on the poor Hyuga, "Anyway, as I was saying, before you rudely interrupted me, I am going to tell you how come I lived when I shouldn't have. Before Tenten released her final attack, I was furiously doing some hand signs while chanting a short phrase over and over again. Why? Well, you see, I was offering my death to Shinigami, the god of death, in order for my spirit to be saved." He stepped to the right, dodging a furious swipe before continuing once more. "Right before that stupid katana severed my head, I felt my spirit detach itself from my physical body, and suddenly, I felt free. It seemed as if I was floating, which I'm sure I was come to think of it, with no worries or fears. Ah! Those few seconds were bliss but I then realised that I vowed to kill your little bitch over there, in order for my reincarnation to be valid. By not killing her then, I would've incurred the wrath of Shinigami which means I probably would be suffering in hell for the whole of eternity. Death's wrath is not something I take so lightly since the damage is not only to me but to the rest of my family as well for the next hundred generations or so. Hm … this is getting a little boring. Let me spice it up a bit."

Soon, Jiu had started retaliating to Neji's blows causing Neji some problems. Although his training with Lee proved useful, Jiu's skill was still above what Lee could do. With Jiu's skill and Lee's speed, Neji realised that he might not be able to go through with his promise to Tenten. _'Shit. He's good. But I'm not going to lose. I never break my promises. Never.' _

"You're not bad. Anyway, back to my story. As soon as I realised that I had no tangible form any longer I immediately sought a person to … infiltrate temporarily. It was hard to pick mind you, they were all relatively able shinobis. I was thinking of taking over yours since you seem to be the leader of your little band of wannabes but I knew that if I did, one smart cookie would figure it out since I don't know how to act like you. Luckily, I seemed to have picked a good one, someone who was overlooked a bit but was important enough not to be sent back to report to your Hokage. Pretty smart of me don't you think? This guy doesn't seem to be too stubborn either, taking over his body was incredibly easy. He didn't even fight back! I doubt he even knows I'm in him."

Neji thought carefully. He knew that he doesn't have an inexhaustible amount of chakra and he would soon tire. _'Damn it Jiu. I can't even use my Eight Trigrams One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms. But there has to be a way to end this without killing Lee. Hn …what do I know of Shinigami and Blood Vows?' _

"Look, I'm tired of playing around so I'll go and make you a deal. Why don't you just give me the bitch and I promise I won't harm a single strand of hair from the head of this spandex wearing friend of yours and I'll even spare your life. You're smart enough to make up a lie, say she suddenly acted crazy from the after effects of suddenly using her clan's chakra system and so you had do restrain her using violent means in order to stop her from causing anyone else harm or something. So what do you say? "

And then it clicked. _'A strand of hair, yes, that's it. I just need a strand of hair from the carrier and Tenten so I can reverse the vows, making Jiu's vows void. But how can I get a strand of his hair when I can't even touch him? I know how to this, I just need to remember. How am I supposed to wake up the dormant spirit of the possessed individual? God, where the hell is his bloody 'youth' when you need it …that's it! Youth! All I need is to remind the possessed body of the things he loves the most. When I jog his memory of the things he liked back before he was possessed, that memory will act as an anathema for the hijacking spirit. The anathema can then distract Jiu by the constant jolts it gives, giving me just enough time to grab a strand off his head. And then, using chakra strings, I can pinch a strand from Tenten's head without getting too close to her therefore keeping her safe from Jiu's clutches. Now all I need is the perfect timing.' _

"Oh come on. Not only are you blind, are you mute too? Or maybe you're just deaf?" Jiu mocked him.

But Neji just smirked. And suddenly, Jiu doesn't feel that confident anymore.

'_Oh you just wait and see you insolent brat. You just wait and see.'_

_

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_

**Was it okay?**

**I hope it didn't seem rushed.**

**PLEASE DON'T FORGET LEAVE A REVIEW!**

**Ja ne!**

**PS: Apologies for making Neji extremely OOC on the last chappy. Can anyone give me an idea as to how Neji should confess to Tenten? I'm not a very romantic person so I'd like any help/opinion I can get.**

**PPS: You should go read PEEPS by SCOTT WESTERFELD. I kinda got the anathema idea there. Also, I think the first few chapter reminds me of Neji and Tenten's relationship (or the relationship I think they have). Some thing about predermined fate etc ... Go read it!**


	8. Chapter 7 Dreaming

**I am really sorry that I can't update as fast as I could when I first started. I have been having many problems on how I should make the story flow.**

**It's too bad you guys (and girls) couldn't help me out with an idea of how Neji is going to confess. **

**Actually, I'm talking rubbish. Thanks Mako. Ten (did I spell it right) for your input about this!**

**I've sort of got an idea on how I want him to confess. You'll just have to see how on the next chapter. I've gone slightly crazy writing this fic and I don't think it's going to plan any more. I'm now just ad libbing every now and again.**

**Hope you enjoy this and thanks for reviewing! **

**morphy** _

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_

_Although the hazy mist had covered the deserted garden path, the moon still shone brightly enough to pierce through its dense layers. A young woman wearing a simple qipao was walking barefoot down the long pavement, her chocolate tresses out of their usually bound state. Confusion was clearly painted on her angelic face as she kept on walking down a seemingly endless path. As she walked further, she saw a soft golden glow that seemed to be coming from underneath. Gingerly, she followed the soft beam and then entered a small passageway right below the ground. There were steps leading further away from the surface and it seemed as if it was beckoning her to go there. She cocked her head to one side as if contemplating whether she should go or not. Finally, curiosity won her over. _

'_Curiosity may have killed the cat,' she thought, 'but satisfaction had brought it back.' And with that final thought, Tenten entered the unknown._

**With Neji and Jiu**

Youth. That was the first thing that came out of Neji's mouth. That one word which had plagued Neji's training days and had caused him so much grief, that word whose entire being had almost cost Neji to lose his cool, calm and collected self because of his enormous desire to punch the lights out of Lee and Gai sensei, had come spilling out of his mouth. Suddenly, Jiu felt his head about to explode but the feeling was soon gone. Using the jolt as a distraction, Neji managed to connect a punch to his face, temporarily stunning him. Unfortunately, Jiu recovered almost immediately.

"I didn't know Hyugas were such cheats," Jiu hissed, "If you think that will hurt me then guess again."

Neji didn't bother with a vocal reply and used his fists instead to send the message across.

Jiu managed to regain his composure, dodging this attack but then Neji uttered once again that dreaded word, youth. Only this time it was louder. Jiu grunted in pain. His mind was throbbing, and frankly, the pain didn't seem as if it was going away any time soon. Neji took advantage of this situation and used his Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms on him. He couldn't really use his Eight Trigrams One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms or else he might kill Lee. He just needed to bruise him a bit to slow him down a bit and possibly … grab a strand of hair as well while he's at it.

"_8 …16 …24 …32 … 40 … 48 … 56 … 64," he counted before yanking a small handful of hair from Lee's head. _He was about to sneak off towards Tenten to get some hair samples from her when the pain in Jiu's head subsided. As Neji angled his body towards Tenten, Jiu struck. He launched a roundhouse kick hitting Neji perfectly on the head, sending him flying towards Tenten. The blow disoriented Neji but as he realised that he was about connect with his injured team mate, he stuck a palm straight down onto the ground, slowing himself down before completing a series of back flips and then finally landing on a semi-kneeling position, roughly a hand span away from Tenten's unconscious body. Without missing a beat, Jiu leaped towards Neji. Neji quickly took hold of a few strands of Tenten's hair, jumped back towards an old oak tree and used this momentum to come charging straight towards Jiu. Neither hit their actual mark as they both blocked each other's oncoming attack. They grappled on the ground, rolling around, kicking, punching and basically trying cause grievous harm towards the other person. Finally, Neji managed to draw blood from Jiu, distracting him, therefore letting Neji flip him over to hurl him away. He then swiftly made some hand signs before finally screaming out, 'Hakke Kūshō' in order to expel chakra from his palms, sending Jiu futher away, buying him some time to recite the ancient words of separation.

Neji intertwined Tenten's soft brown locks with Lee's short black ones, covered it with Jiu's blood and then started chanting some words.

"Twined tresses,

Blood of being,

Shinigami's wrath

Is now unleashing …"

Jiu's body started shaking uncontrollably. He felt sick and weak but he still tried to get closer to Neji.

Neji continued,

"A life lost,

A life taken,

Through Shinigami,

Curse, awaken …"

By now, Jiu was in so much pain. It was a mixture of mental and physical pain. His body was contorting into unimaginable shapes while inside, his head suffered from repeated painful pulsations.

"Broken task,

Broken soul

Mortal spirit,

Is yours to control."

Lee's body started floating in mid-air and for a second, it seemed as if his body was about to be torn apart. Suddenly, the night sky cracked and split into two and a dark set of spiralling stairs appeared from up above. A hooded figure, covered in velvety robes walked down slowly and majestically. The figure had the presence of a king because of the powerful aura that was surrounding it. As he descended carefully and purposefully, Lee's body froze. The hooded figure soon reached where Lee's possessed body was and he paused, gazing through Neji. Neji was rooted in his spot. He was not afraid per se, but more of … awestruck by this figure's imposing presence.

"Was it you who sought the vow to become void?" the hooded figure asked in a smooth, velvety voice.

Neji's eye widened slightly but soon recovered from his shock. He replied, "Hai, Shinigami-sama."

_**With Tenten**_

_Tenten was walking endlessly, following the light that seemed to keep on moving and moving. Her legs had started feeling weary and she herself felt rather sleepy but she fought this fatigue with a will of steel. Soon, she reached an underground labyrinth. She stepped closer towards the entrance of the maze and then stopped. From somewhere within the maze, she heard a voice._

"_Tenten, Tenten, come to me my darling. Come and enter so you may rest your weary body."_

"_Mother?" Tenten whispered, "Is that you?"_

"_It is your mother dear child. Now come. I want us all to be back together. Forget your worries and all your troubles, come to me my child."_

"_But how am I supposed to get there mother? I don't know the way."_

"_Just close your eyes my little heaven. Close your eyes and then listen to my voice. I will guide you. I will guide to back to where you belong."_

"_Yes mother," she replied and then closed her eyes, stepping inside death's doorway. _

The hooded figure then drew a small dagger from the inside of his robe and stepped closer towards Neji.

"Your right arm, give me your right arm."

Neji complied without hesitating.

With a quick swiping motion, Shinigami slashed a large wound starting from Neji's shoulder to his wrist. He flinched slightly but kept his arm out still. Shinigami then grabbed Lee's body and placed it right under Neji's dripping wound. Blood was gushing out profusely, staining Lee's bright green spandex. Shinigami then spoke of an ancient spell that could not be uttered by human tongue. Then, with the tip of his middle finger, he traced Neji's wound from shoulder to wrist. The cut quickly healed as the finger passed it and no tell tale battle scar of any sort was left behind. It was as if the wound had not existed. Even the pain had disappeared. It was truly magic.

Then Shinigami spoke, "For a vow to be broken, blood must be offered. I shall take away this spirit with me back to my Kingdom in exchange for the blood you had spilt."

Quick as a flash, Shinigami's hand then went right inside of Lee's body, and slowly, he pulled out what seemed like white linen. But the white linen soon turned out to be Jiu's spirit. Jiu's spirit was struggling to get free, lashing at everything he could reach, which included Neji. Fortunately, his touch just went right through Neji.

"Noooo, please no! I have not finished my revenge yet! Let me go! I want the bitch's head, I want her dead!"

"SILENCE," Shinigami roared. "You keep quiet, you imbecile. You have sworn an oath to me but you had broken it. You're family is now cursed for the next one hundred generations. Because of your foolishness, you family shall suffer from countless bloodshed. This is your future. This is what you have put upon your family. Now you shall also suffer your part of the deal." With a flick of his hand, Jiu's spirit disappeared. He then looked towards Neji, "As for you, not many have been able to break an oath to Shinigami. It takes courage to be able to do such things. For this, I shall reward you with long life and a long, honourable career."

Neji bowed deeply at this most honourable gift, and murmured some words of thanks. As he raised his head back up, he asked, "And what of my comrades Shinigami-sama?"

"The spandex wearing boy will be fine. He shall soon wake up knowing none of the events that had occurred. Your blood had healed him of any injuries and or problems he may have received from your battle with Jiu. But the girl, I believe she had just reached my Kingdom."

Neji's face paled and a soft 'no' escaped from his lips. He ran towards Tenten's lifeless body and scooped her in his arms.

Her body was cold, her once red lips had gone blue, her face, chalky white.

"Death is inevitable," Shinigami continued, "I am sorry for your loss."

With these final words, Shinigami turned around and then proceeded to climb the spiralling staircase.

"WAIT!" Neji yelled out, completely out of character. "Isn't there anything I can do to bring her back to life?"

Shinigami turned around slowly.

"What would you do to bring her back?" he queried.

Neji paused. But then spoke loud and clear. "I would give up my life, just to have her living and breathing once more."

Death gazed at Neji with his piercing red eyes before speaking once more, "You have courage young man. I like that. No. I will not have you offer your life. I see greatness in you."

Neji was about to rebuke this when death held up his bony finger.

"I can see that you love that young woman there in your arms. I can also see that she had a great future before her before the Huangying clan had ruined it for her. I tell you what, I'll go and make you a deal. I shall take you to my Kingdom and you shall have all the time you need to find her. But when you do find her, you will only have one hour to convince her and her family to come back on earth with you. If you cannot do this, then I shall send you back here against your own will."

Neji seemed a bit wary, "Is there catch? Why would I even need to convince her to live?"

Death laughed a spine tingling laugh. "You don't know very much about her do you? All her family is dead, and I mean ALL. And her kind is treated well within my palace. Her ancestors are honourable people and they reside within the comforts of my walls in peace. They have been for the last million years. And about a catch? No, there isn't one. I will even show you to her clan's housing. But as I said, it's not only HER that you need to convince, but the rest of her clan as well. You only have an hour to do these so I wouldn't waste any time idling around. So, do you accept my proposal?"

"Hai."

"Very well then. Leave her body behind and then follow me. Both of you colleagues are under my protection and no one will be able to harm their resting bodies."

With his final words, Shinigami ascended the spiralling stairs, with Neji, following closely in his wake.

"_I'm coming Tenten. Wait for me. I'm coming soon."_

_

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**So, how was it? Feed backs are appreciated! ****Please don't forget review!**

**Ja ne**


	9. Chapter 8 The Truth

**I am absolutely sorry about my very late update. I know I should've updated sooner but ... I was very busy preparing for my last days at school. And on the weekends I was ... I was ... I was baking cookies! I admit, I was baking cookies.**

**Please don't be mad at me!**

**Because I felt really bad ... I have made this chapter extremely long. Actually, it's supposed to be two chapters but then again ... I thought you people might want to know what's happened.**

**Thanks to all the people who reviewed. I really appreciate it.**

**morphy**

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Neji followed Shinigami quietly into the land of the dead. As he stepped through the portal that separated the living and the dead, he felt a cold chill run through his bones. It was not a feeling that he had often experienced, nor is it one that he welcomed openly. The chill was not due to him being afraid, although in this circumstance it may have played some part, but more of the supernatural sensation he experienced while entering through death's doors. He was not one to be affected by the cold as most people were, or even heat for that matter, but the unnatural coolness of the spiritual world unnerved him. He had always imagined the hereafter to be a cold, unforgiving place where wandering spirits roam around in an everlasting pursuit of happiness. He had some things right, but most definitely not all. 

Shinigami moved unusually fast for someone who's dead but he kept his speedy pace down the endless tunnel nevertheless. This then caused Neji to take quicker steps in order to keep up. The tunnel was bare and dark but there was a faint light right at the end of it. Little by little, the light grew brighter.

Neji's eyes grew in surprise, but due to his strict Shinobi code of conduct, he withdrew back to his usual stoic façade. _"This … is the afterlife?" he thought, surprised at the scene before him._

It was true that there were many spirits that were wandering around but unlike his assumption of them roaming around, aimlessly searching for lost happiness, they all seemed … genuinely happy. He had to admit that the place was quite chilly, just like his childhood theory, but other than that, his guesses couldn't have been any further than the truth.

"Welcome to my Kingdom," Shinigami spoke. "This place in which we had entered is called the Gathering Hall. There are eight passageways from here leading to the eight main parts of my Kingdom. The eastern passage leads to the Chamber of Recreational Luxuries, on the southeast, we have the Grand Library, south, the Departure and Arrivals, the southwest the Hall of Assembly, the west, The Gardens, the northeast, the Public Quarters, directly north, is my domain and finally, on the northwest, we have the Realm of the Royals. Now this is the place where you should start looking."

Neji blanked out for one second. Don't get him wrong, he hasn't forgotten about his task of getting Tenten back. Although, overwhelmed by the truth behind the afterlife, he still remembers the purpose of coming here. What confused him though was that Shinigami had said to start looking for Tenten in the Realm of the Royals. He would've thought that she would be in the Public's Quarters.

"_Maybe," Neji thought, "Maybe she's being used as a slave by the nobles."_

As if reading his thoughts, which unfortunately for Neji the god of death did, Shinigami replied, "In the afterlife, all men are free. There are still rankings after death, but all are considered free men." Shinigami then gave Neji a pointed look, "You really don't know much about her do you?"

Neji was about to retort but then he kept his mouth shut instead. _"I guess I don't."_

"Of course you don't. All the things you know about her was from the time after her fifth birthday. Or have you forgotten the fact that she had lost any memory she had before her fifth birthday?"

Neji blinked.

The god of death rolled his eyes. But Neji was unable to see this human-like action for Shinigami's head was covered by the hood of his robe. He shook his head subtlety and then muttered something quietly before continuing.

"As I have said earlier, I will take you to where she is. But mind you, you will have to remember how to get back here because you'll need to go to the Departures to get back to earth. Now, we're wasting too much time already. Follow me."

And with that, Shinigami gathered his robe together and then briskly stepped through the passageway that led to the Realm of the Royalties with Neji following suit.

**With Tenten**

'Mother … where am I?'

Chichi looked upon her daughter with such joy before answering, "Why, you're in the Kingdom of Shinigami of course."

Tenten blinked and then asked, "So I'm dead then. Am I?"

"Unfortunately yes, dear child. Your chakra was too low already and your friends were unable to bring you to a hospital quick enough. If it wasn't for that annoying boy called … whathisname? Ah, Jiu! If Jiu hadn't possessed your spandex wearing friend and then intercepted your other friend with those stunning eyes… hmm, I believe his name was Neji, then you would've been alive."

Tenten gasped, "What happened to my friends? Are they alright?"

"Well, your other friends, the ones I haven't mentioned yet, are currently searching for you and your team mates. They were previously trapped in a Genjutsu which was cast by Jiu. As for your team mates … well, I do believe that one has followed you here in death."

Tenten paled before choking out a question, "W…who?"

"Neji."

Tenten paled even more before falling onto her knees, her body racking with every sob she made.

"Oh darling no, no, you misunderstand me! Oh don't cry dear. Please don't cry," her mother whispered as she bent down to embrace Tenten. "I didn't mean he died. What I meant was that he literally came here, to the Land of the Dead, with Shinigami-sama. He's really alive."

Tenten's sobbing soon ebbed away. Slowly, she looked up and gave her mother a questioning glance through her red-rimmed eyes.

Chichi gave Tenten a knowing smile, "That my dear, we'll soon find out. Come. We must make you presentable. I believe Neji wants to talk to the whole clan."

Tenten gave her a confused look and was going to probe deeper but then a loud gong sounded.

Chichi's eyes brightened immediately, "They are coming soon my dear Tian Tian. We must make haste and prepare for their arrival. Questions later honey."

And with that, Chichi whisked her daughter off to the dressing rooms.

**With Neji and Shinigami**

"What was that sound Shinigami-sama?" Neji asked, after the booming sound he heard stopped.

"That would be gong that warns a clan of the arrival of guests."

"I see." Neji paused before asking another question. "About the deal … if I am not mistaken, you want me to convince her whole clan to come back to life, am I right?"

The god nodded.

Neji continued, "Well, wouldn't their corpses have rotten away already? Or are you going to provide them with a carbon copy of what they looked like? Are they going to be the same age as they had died, assuming I succeeded, or are they going to look like what their true age should be like? And what about her ancestors? Are they to live again?"

"You seem very talkative today?" Shinigami replied smoothly.

Neji blushed; a faint pinkish hue lined his cheeks.

Shinigami chuckled, "No need to be embarrassed. They are valid questions therefore I will answer them. When I meant her clan, I meant just her current family, the ones who were alive before she had amnesia. This includes her parents, grandparents, uncles, aunties, cousins, senseis, servants and guards. I have carefully preserved all their bodies because they are nobles and so you won't have to worry about them looking like headless zombies when they live once again … if you succeed, that is."

"Just her current family? B…But that's a lot of people! I …"

"Is the Hyuga backing out then?" the god interrupted.

"No! Of course not."

"Very well then, case closed."

Neji was still rather overwhelmed by the task he had accepted but he knew there was no going back.

'_I won't back out on you Tenten. I promise you I won't even if I have to bring all your dead relatives back to life, your servants and your guards. W…wait … servants? Guards? Did he just say that Tenten's a noble?'_

Shinigami's words drew him away from his thoughts, "Exactly. For genius, I must say you are quite slow. Hasn't it occurred to you that maybe there's more to her than meets the eye? You of all people should know better especially since you had just witnessed her extraordinary fight with the Huangying brat. I mean how many clans are there who are able to grow wings and fly? Think boy, think!"

Neji thought back to his history classes during his days in the academy. _"There are three clans who are able to produce wings and fly. These three clans are part of the Qin Family. They are all of Chinese descent and have all migrated to Japan in the early …something hundreds. Of these three, only the Yumao Clan are able to shape shift into actual birds to suit their needs. Whether it be for a quick flight or for long distance flying, although, it has been recorded that the other two clans are able to reach very long distances without resorting to shape shifting. Now what were the two other clans? Hmm … aha! The Huangying clan belonged to this family too. They were famous for their affinity to lightning and their ability to summon eagles. They were ruthless, blood thirsty people and they were rumoured to have killed off the third Clan from Qin Family. This clan is the Tianshi Clan. The Tianshi Clan is highly secretive. Not a lot is known about them except for their peaceful nature, ability to fly, affinity for ice and their tremendous power when finally angered. Of all the three clans, only the Huangying and the Yumao stands which means …"_

"Yes," Shinigami answered, "Tenten is from the Tianshi Clan."

Neji, for once in his whole life, was absolutely flabbergasted.

"Control yourself boy. We are to meet one of the most prestigious clans in the world and so must manage your shock. Restrain those questions that are about to erupt from you. Yes, I know about your questions. Now you have to make a good first impression or else you'll lose the chance of getting her back."

Before Neji could retort, the melodic sound of a 13-stringed koto was heard. The welcoming committee had begun their greeting.

"We are here. Follow me."

Accustomed to formal occasions, Neji refrained back to his stoic persona and followed Shinigami.

"Welcome to the Tianshi Complex. We have been waiting for your arrival," the greeter addressed both Shinigami and Neji. "Come, there are refreshments waiting at the Meeting Hall where the whole of our clan awaits you young man."

Neji felt a knot in his stomach. _'I must do this. And I will.'_

"I will be watching your performance Neji. I wish you all the best."

"Arigato Shinigami-sama."

"Don't thank me just yet. Now let's go. The place is big and you don't want to get lost. Believe me."

Neji nodded politely and proceeded to follow the greeter.

The man took them to a large mansion and then led them through a series of hallways before finally stopping at the front of a large door with the Tianshi's insignia, which was a pair of snow white wings that started from the crack right in the middle of the two doors, the tips, spreading out just far enough to reach the edge, towards the hinges. On the centre of each wing was a dragon's eye, its pupils giving off all the hues of the colour blue. Right at the centre, where the wings meet, lays a coiled light blue-grey dragon made out of ice and steel, its tail dangling down, almost reaching the carpeted floor. The man then proceeded to knock on the door three times before taking three even steps backwards. Almost immediately, the huge doors opened and the whole Tianshi Clan was looking at Neji with their piercing blue eyes.

Neji flinched inwardly. _'So this is how it feels to be stared at by a prestigious clan with some sort of Kekkai Genkai.'_

But his musings were once again interrupted, this time by the greeter.

The greeter drew a deep breath before finally speaking in a large booming tone, "Lords and Ladies of the Tianshi Clan. I bring to you our guests, the most honourable Shinigami-sama, Ruler and Protector of the dead and Neji Hyuga of the branch house of the Hyuga Clan."

Neji cringed at the mention of the branch house but the Tianshi people just smiled at him calmly, their once ice, blue pupils reverting back to their original ones. Neji was surprised to see the range of eye colours from the Tianshi Clan but his look of avid curiosity soon changed into a look of wonderment as he glanced towards the Royal tables. Sitting on the left of Lady Tianshi was the most angelic person he had ever seen. She had a deathly pale complexion which contrasted well with her thick black lashes that framed large, chocolate-brown, doe-like eyes. She also had an adorable nose and soft, pink lips. Her coffee, brown locks cascaded down in loose curls, reaching her tail bone, her fringe, framing her face quite nicely. She was wearing her family's traditional colours, navy blue with golden trimmings. Her silken qipao was very modest. It had a high collar that was open just under her chin. Gold lined the edges of her collar and it traced down a diagonal line from the bottom of her neck to the left side of her waist. Parallel lines were sewn at even intervals along this golden line using the same thread as the linings. The top part of her qipao was rather body-hugging and it only emphasized her mature assets. Her qipao had long sleeves that were quite form fitting from the shoulder towards her elbow which then flared on from there quite nicely towards her wrists. The edges were once again trimmed with gold. Sadly for Neji, he was unable to see the rest for the table in which she sat at obscured his view. He soon snapped out of his state of wonderment, realising that it won't do him any good to look stupid right in front of Tenten's Clan.

'_Speaking of Tenten,' he reflected, 'Where is she?'_

As if on cue, which it probably was, the greeter continued, "As our honoured guests, the Lord and Lady request both your presence in the Royal table. Shinigami-sama, the Lord requests for you to be seated on his right. Will that be alright?"

"More than so."

"And you young man … you are to sit on the left of the Lady Tian Tian, otherwise know to you as … Tenten."

With that final revelation, Neji's mouth dropped open, his eyes seemed to bulge of their sockets, and his composed nature was completely forgotten. This brought a deep chuckle within Lord Dao's throat and caused the whole of the congregation to laugh along with him. Neji immediately shut his gaping mouth and then looked down at the suddenly interesting flooring.

Lord Dao looked upon Neji with great interest and amusement, "Why, I do believe that this is the first time you've seen Tian Tian in a dress with her hair down, am I right?"

Neji managed to squeak a small hai which caused another round of laughter from the crowd.

"Isn't she just gorgeous?" Tian Tian's father continued, teasing Neji further.

Neji face went tomato red as he muttered another 'hai' and Tian Tian's cheeks grew pink at his comment, casting a lovely contrast to her deathly pallor. More laughter erupted from Lord Dao and the gathered assembly.

"Oh stop laughing at the poor boy," Lady Chichi reprimanded her husband before looking at Neji apologetically, "I'm sorry about my husband's lack to social manners. There's absolutely nothing you should be embarrassed boy. Come now and sit. I believe you are here for a purpose."

The greeter then led the guests to their appropriate seats. Neither Neji nor Tian Tian glanced at each other once Neji was properly seated as both were still quite embarrassed from the earlier … dilemma.

Both the Lord and Lady gave each other a meaningful smirk.

"Why Tian Tian," her mother started, "I don't believe that's the way we greet our guests? Surely your team mate deserves more than just a cold shoulder?"

Tian Tian twitched.

Lord Dao followed on from his wife's comment, "That's true darling. I'm sure you still remember how we greet our close friends. But for the sake of our guest I'll go through it once."

Tian Tian blushed once more.

Lord Dao cleared his throat, "Now. Both of you stand up facing each other."

Neji glanced at the blushing Tian Tian as she gracefully stood up from her seat. He then followed suit, facing her directly.

Lord Dao then continued, "Okay. These steps are better done … flowing one after the other so I'll tell you all that you have to do first so you both can perform the greeting as elegantly as it should be. Now, first the man bows as the lady curtsies. Then the lady offers her right hand to the man so the man could gently take it in his right hand to kiss it softly once. After that, the lady props her hands on the man's shoulders so she may kiss him on his cheeks four times. Starting from the left and then to right, back to the left and then to the right. And then both people end the greeting with either a bow or a curtsy. Have you got it young man?"

Neji was once again a blushing wreck but he managed to give a polite bow.

"In that case, I'll count you off to three and then both of you go. One, two, three."

Somehow, both teens managed to do the bow on time. Tian Tian then offered her hand to Neji and then he kissed it like he was told to causing the two to go redder. After that, Tian Tian placed her hands on Neji's broad shoulders, but she had to go a bit on tip toes because Neji was a good three inches taller than her. She then gave him the appropriate number of kisses which made them go even redder, if it were possible. They then finished the greeting with a bow and a curtsy before seating themselves on the Royal table once more. Both teens did not notice the Lord and Lady sharing Cheshire cat grins.

"That was perfect," Lady Chichi exclaimed!

"You're a fast learner young man. Very good," Tian Tian's father commented. "But I do believe you have something to tell us young man. I am most curious to know."

The whole clan then shifted their whole attention to Neji. Even Tian Tian was openly looking at him.

Neji closed his eyes briefly, took a deep breath before opening them once again. "I …" he started, "I have come to ask if the clan would not mind … living once more."

"Living?" Lady Chichi queried, "What do you mean living? And who amongst our clan?"

Neji replied, "I meant living as … being alive once more, to go back to earth as a mortal and to enjoy …life. As for the clan, I meant the ones who were alive before Tente … Tian Tian's fifth birthday."

At the mention of Tian Tian's fifth birthday, the whole clan bristled. Even the Lord and Ladies stiffened.

Neji noticed the sudden stillness and asked in his most polite voice, "Was there something I had said that had offended you?"

"Not offended. Just … reminded of that fateful day," Lady Chichi replied wearily. "You have heard of rumours about the destruction of the Tianshi clan haven't you?"

Neji nodded.

"Well, it's true. Our whole clan had been demolished except for my little Tian Tian. She was away training on the Heavenly Forest and so the Huangying Clan was not able to ambush her as well. Unfortunately, that was the day when she finally finished her training and so she decided to come home."

"Only to find her whole clan dead and her mother dying in the most painful way there is," finished Lord Dao. "Tian Tian managed to escape their clutches and even release her mother from further pain but the enemy had managed to inject a serum that affected her memory. Luckily for her, the Huangying Clan had lost track of her."

'_Another Uchiha case? And I thought I had it bad,' Neji thought._

"What I'd like to know though," Lord Dao began, "Is why you would want us to live again?"

Neji was caught unprepared so he opted to tell the truth, "Well … I. I had a deal with Shinigami-sama and the deal was that in order to bring Ten … Tian Tian back to life … I had to convince her whole clan to come back to life as well."

"I see," Lord Dao replied, "I have a few more questions to ask of you … in private. We shall go to the Meeting Chamber now. Excuse us Shinigami-sama. Come with me."

The Lord stood up and walked purposefully towards the large banner hanging right behind the royal tables. He performed a few hand seals and soon the banner became a portal.

"Chichi, Neji … follow me."

Tenten glanced at her father and then gave him a questioning look. She stood up meaning to follow but it was not what her father intended her to do.

"Not you darling. Stay at the table. You shall be the acting Lady of the Tianshi Clan while we are gone. I promise I won't hurt your friend."

Tenten sighed quietly and with a dejected look, resumed back to her seated position.

"Come. You do not have much time."

And with that said, the Lord, Lady and Neji entered through the portal.

Lord Dao led Neji to a large, oval Oak table with a shiny finish. The Lord and Lady sat at one end and motioned for Neji to sit on the one facing them directly.

Lord Dao coughed before beginning, "From what you have said, you had made a deal with Shinigami-sama in order to bring Tian Tian back to life. Now, what I would like to know … is why?"

Neji could see this coming earlier on but he wasn't able to prepare an answer for it.

'_Here goes nothing.'_

Neji opened his mouth and began talking.

"The first time I met Ten … Tian Tian I …"

"You may call her Tenten if it's any easier," Lady Chichi added kindly.

"Thank you Chichi-sama. The first time I met Tenten was when we were six. It was the beginning of our Academy days and she was put next to me in class. I don't believe we were actually friends but more of … colleagues I suppose. She was just another classmate to me. But one who isn't as annoying. I didn't really know much about her, I didn't ask. She didn't ask about me either. Contrary to popular belief, we had actually started sparring when we were seven and not when we were put in our genin cells. We've known each other for quite a while now but I've never actually thought about her presence. She's never missed training practice. She's always happy. And we've never had a complication to a mission before. I've never worried about her because she's always fine and also fact that I never worried about anyone else other than myself. I know I'm a selfish prick. I've been told that countless of times."

Lady Chichi suppressed a giggle, but Neji didn't even notice.

"It wasn't until I realised that even her life is fragile and that she could die. Before her dying moments, I had always thought that she would be there whether hail, sleet or snow. It had never occurred to me … not once, that she could die and never come back again. I have been very naïve thinking that we'll always be Team Gai, her, me and Lee. I guess what I'm trying to say is that … she's not just a team mate to me any more. I don't think she ever was but I had been too blind to see it. Now I realise that I did worry about her. When she talked to me about her nightmare, I worried about her. I was jealous when she laughed with other guys. I was even envious of Lee when she hugged him last Christmas and all I had was a handshake. A…and I don't know what I'd do without her. She's always been there for me. But I only helped her out when it suited me. I'd listen to what she'd say of course and I'd give her some advice, but that's all I've ever been. A listening ear. Now I'd like to pay her back for all the things she has done for me. I'd like to have a second chance in becoming a better friend to her."

Lord Dao looked at Neji closely. _'The boy seems to be losing his cool. Hmm.'_

"But you still haven't answered my question. Why would you want her to live again?"

Neji tensed. He'd been trying to avoid answering this question by going around it and telling them that he'd like to be a better friend. But it seems as if fate has given him no choice on this.

"B … because I love her," me murmured softly and he shut his eyes, preparing himself for the onslaught of Tenten's father wrath. _'What would a noble want with a branch member like me?'_

But instead, he heard laughter. He felt as if his dignity was ripped away from him.

'_I knew it. I'm just a stupid branch member and their laughing at me. I don't know which is worse a punch or someone laughing __at__ me.'_

Strangely though, when he opened his eyes, they were smiling at him. They weren't mocking him at all. Lord Dao put a hand on his shoulder and then spoke.

"That was all I wanted to hear. We've been watching you for some time now and we were well aware of your growing feelings for our daughter."

"I believe it had started during your 'puberty' days, roughly two years ago when you saw our darling TianTian in a shop, being forced to wear that itty bitty pair of shorts by her friends Ino and Sakura. I think your cousin was creeping away, hoping not to be next. Am I right," Lady Chichi asked.

Neji coloured at being reminded of that day.

Lord Dao laughed, "If I'm not mistaken, you had a nose bleed right after."

Neji blushed even more. _'How many times have I blushed this day?'_

He gave a small cough to gain the Lord and Lady's attention once more. "Um … Lord and Lady of the Tianshi Clan?"

The said people looked at him kindly.

"Does this mean you agree to live once more?"

"Not quite. There's one more thing I have in mind."

"Make that a we Dao-kun."

"Right, there's one more thing we have in mind. One more thing you have to do before we agree."

"Alright then, what would that one thing be?" Neji asked.

Lord Dao smirked and then whispered something in Neji's ear which caused him to go bright red.

"That's all you have to do boy, that's all you have to do."

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**I know ... I'm mean. I left you guys with a cliffy. But that was because I'm saving this part for the next chapter.**

**But because I'm not THAT mean, I'm going to give you guys a preview of the next chappie.**

**Please review - constructive criticism accepted.**

**Ja ne!

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**

**_Preview_**

_"…." _

_"Oh honey, I think you might have put him in shock. Are you alright there dear?'_

_"…."_

_"Boy, you have 20 minutes to snap out of it, do what we asked you to do and then finish off the deal. Are you going to do it or not?" Lord Dao snapped._

_"H…hai."_

_"Now what are you waiting for go on, out the door you go!"_

_And with that, the Lord and Lady grabbed Neji by his elbows and then frog marched him through the portal._


	10. Chapter 9 Done Deal

**I apologise for not updating or replying on anyone's reviews but my parents computer crashed and so did the internet. Unfortunately, since I am generally the one who uses the computer and the internet the most ... I was blamed. It took 5 days before we got it fixed and luckily for me, my parents thought that not having to use the computer for 5 days was punishment enough.**

**I had quickly** **typed this up tonight (starting from 9pm to almost 12 in the frigging morning just so that you people won't die because of the cliffy. I apologise for the cliffy by the way! I can't help it. They just ... come!**

**Anyway, thanks to all of you who reviewed, really appreciated it. I know it looks as if it's going to be cliched ... and I think it might be. I did plan something but I kinda lost my plan and I forgot what I had wanted him to do so I just made this part up. **

**There are more "journaly" stuff at the bottom ... please read!**

**I HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS CHAPPIE!**

**morphy**

**PS: I hope everyone had a good Christmas!**

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"…."

"Oh honey, I think you might have put him in shock. Are you alright there dear?'

"…."

"Boy, you have 20 minutes to snap out of it, do what we asked you to do and then finish off the deal. Are you going to do it or not?" Lord Dao snapped.

"H…hai."

"Now what are you waiting for go on, out the door you go."

And with that, the Lord and Lady grabbed Neji by his elbows and then frog marched him through the portal. As the trio stepped out of the portal, Tenten looked over to them and then gave her father a questioning look. But her father just shook his head and then smiled at her enigmatically.

Tenten was confused. _'What the hell?'_

She then looked over to her mum for answers but she had the same look as her father and a Cheshire cat grin to top it off. As a last resort, she glanced at Neji but he wouldn't even look her way. He still looked the same as always, with his strong features, impassive face and neat and immaculate hair. But what was surprising though was that she could see a pinkish tinge gracing his cheeks.

'_Huh?' Tenten was astounded, 'I…Is that a blush? Never in my whole life had I seen Neji blush! What did my parents do?' _

Tenten was then lost in her own little world. Wondering about all the possible explanations on why Neji had a flushed look.

'_Maybe mum told him that I used to wet the bed and now he's embarrassed for me. Or maybe my parents did something embarrassing in front of him. Oh shit. Don't tell me that they were cuddling and giving each other kisses while they were at the Meeting Chamber. Neji not used to people showing affection. He might have been shocked by what my parents had done that he blushed and then he froze in his spot so that my parents had to frog march him here. Or maybe …'_

But Tenten wasn't able to finish thinking of all the possibilities because the lights had suddenly blacked out.

'_What the …'_

All of a sudden someone put the spotlight on her, blinding her completely. Unfortunately, her Kekkai Genkai was useless when there's an extremely bright light. She shut her eyes on instinct and then focused her other ninja senses on her surroundings. She whipped out some kunais out of nowhere and placed one each per gap between he fingers. She propped up her weapon-armed hands on her lap and then sat still. Waiting.

'_Can you have assassinations in death? Why the hell is there a spotlight on me? I'm like a sitting duck right here!'_

But soon the spotlight dimmed down. As she realised this, she had slowly opened her eyes and then checked around to see any intruders. But unfortunately for her, the rest of her surroundings were in pitch black and she couldn't see anything at all. She tried to activate her bloodline limit but to no avail. So the best she could do was to make her face look blank but her eyes remained observant.

'_Why can't I activate it? Only father can stop anyone from the clan from using their Kekkai Genkai. But why would he? Nevermind that. A noble never let's themselves be outwitted. I will stay calm. I will stay calm. But where are my parents? And where's Neji?'_

Athough her mind was slightly amiss, Tenten's senses were on high alert but still she couldn't detect anything. Then, directly right in front of Tenten, the strumming of a guitar could be heard.

Tenten's eyes narrowed in suspicion. _'Whoever you are … you're not catching me off guard.' _

Soon, the strong voice of a young man could be heard, vibrating from the walls of the Tianshi's Clan Hall. Tenten blinked, confused.

_Sent to me from heaven  
__You brightened up my day  
__When I feel so down and blue  
__You asked if I'm okay  
__You saw the child within me  
T__he one I tried hide  
__You saw through my defences  
__Even though I lied_

By now, another spotlight had been turned on and slowly, the singing figure, hidden by the shadows was being slowly revealed.

_You are my starlight  
__Shinning bright  
__You are my moonlight  
__Come home tonight  
__You are my starlight  
__Shinning bright  
__You are my moonlight  
__Come home tonight_

"N … Neji?" she whispered. _'Since when did he play the guitar?'_

_You never once judged me  
__Like everyone else did  
__You tried to be my friend although  
__I ran away and hid  
__I never felt dejected  
__Since you're always by my side  
__No one can ever replace you  
__Even if they tried_

'_Is he singing this …for me?' Tenten blushed faintly at the thought._

_You are my starlight  
__Shinning bright  
__You are my moonlight  
__Come home tonight  
__You are my starlight  
__Shinning bright  
__You are my moonlight  
__Come home tonight_

'_Does he really mean it?' she wondered._

_You are the light of my life  
__Never had you left me  
__Never have I been afraid  
__The laws of gravity I'll defy  
__Just to be with you_

'_No. He c … couldn't have … but …he came. He came all the way from the living to the realm of Shinigami. But why?'_

_You are my starlight  
__Oh. Shinning bright  
__Oooh. Moonlight  
__Come home tonight  
__You are my starlight  
__Shinning bright  
__Oooh. Moonlight  
__Come home tonight  
__You are my starlight  
__Shinning bright  
__You are my moonlight  
__Come home tonight._

And then Neji finished the song with a single slow strum. He laid the guitar he had on the ground deliberately slow as to buy some time for his confidence to build up. There was a long pause before Neji dared to look up. And when he did, he had the strangest look in his eyes.

"N…Neji?" Tenten was feeling breathless from the song, "I … I don't understand."

"I … I just want to say that … I … I … I love you," he blurted out, "I can't live without you. I've made a deal with death that if I came with him to his realm and then managed to convince you to live, you and your clan can live once more but you'd have to agree within the next fifteen minutes. I'm not trying to pressure you and I know that you might not want to live again anyway. I … I know I've been a jerk to you and I've made you train every single day. I can understand that you might even hate me but I just can't imagine living … without you. I know everyone thinks I'm a stoic ice cube, devoid of any emotions but I'm not. I'm still human. I can still get hurt and injured. And I have. I fell. I fell in love. With you." He whispered the last two words.

Tenten's breath hitched. She bowed her head down and didn't speak.

Neji was getting worried. Tenten was supposed to say something. Anything! He decided to talk some more.

Neji continued to blabber on, "I mean, I realise that life here in death is pretty good … more than good even and living again may not be something you'd like to do since you have your family here already and you'll never die and you'll have everything you'll ever need and …"

"No I don't," Tenten interrupted him quietly.

" … and you have lots of food and you'll never … huh?"

"No I don't have everything I need," she spoke a little bit louder.

" …? "

Tenten stood up from her chair and she almost tripped over her long skirt but she managed to regain her balance. Slowly she lifted up her head up and stared at him.

"Do you really mean what you said?"

"That I love you? Of course I do. I don't joke Tenten. You of all people should know that. Love isn't a joking matter either. I know I was never one to openly show affections but here I am baring my soul out to you and …"

But Neji was unable to finish his sentence because right after he said he loved her, Tenten had run up to him and tackled him down on to the floor. And the first time in ten years and ten months, she cried.

"Ten?" asked a shell shocked Hyuga.

Never had he seen her cry, ever and frankly, he didn't like it one little bit. He's like one of those men who fall to pieces when they see women cry. No one knew this of course because he hid this fact so well but today, he was caught unaware.

"Ten," squeaked the Hyuga prodigy, "P … please stop crying."

Slowly, Tenten's crying was reduced to a quiet sniffling. Soon, she spoke, "Y … you're that s … something or s …someone in this c …case that I n …need that I d …don't have here. Y … you have n … no I … idea how long I've w … wanted to h … hear that f … from you. I l … love you too you stupid jerk. I love you too. "

And with that confession she cried again, muffling her howls in his chest as she buried her head deeper into his robe, hugging him like there was no tomorrow. And out of the blue, a single clap was heard, followed by another one and then another one until the whole congregation was clapping, laughing and cheering for the young couple. The two teens quickly sat up from the ground, with Tenten sitting on Neji's lap. Both were blushing madly as they had just realised that Tenten's whole clan had just witnessed what had just happened. For the first time since his father died, Neji smiled. It was a genuine smile full of warmth and love and this smile was directed at the lovely Tenten who returned it with one of her own endearing ones. And then, Neji did something that caught Tenten unaware. He kissed her. It was a soft and gentle kiss on the lips. One might even say that it was a rather shy one too. Tenten's shock only lasted for a second and soon she kissed him back. It was the perfect first kiss. The crowd had erupted once more and Tenten's mum had to wipe away a stray tear on her face.

"Oh don't cry honey. Our little Tian Tian is just growing up."

"I …I know Dao-kun b…but she'll always b…be my b..baby."

"Mine too. Mine too."

But then, someone coughed. It was Shinigami.

"I apologise for disrupting your festivities but I believe you only have six minutes to complete the deal. I would advise you to race back to the Departures area with your new girlfriend before it's too late."

"Hai. Arigato Shinigami-sama," Neji replied, standing up from the ground and then helping Tenten up, "But what about the rest of the clan?"

"Well, would the rest of the clan like to have the chance to live again?" Shinigami asked.

"Hai!" shouted the clan.

"Very well," replied death, "Here's what you are to do Hyuga. Run back to the Departures are in five minutes with your girlfriend and if you do this, your girlfriend and her clan will live. If you don't then all your hard work would be put to waste. Everything rests in your hands. Now go."

Neji didn't bother to reply, instead, he had lifted Tenten into his arms and carried her bridal style before setting off to the Departures Gate.

"I wish you all the luck," Shinigami muttered.

Neji had quickly hopped out of the Clan Hall and had started to retrace his steps all the way back to the gate.

"Neji?' Tenten asked, "Would it make it any easier if you put me down and I ran with you instead?"

Neji answered, "No. Your dress is too long and it would hamper you. Trust me. It's best if you stayed in my arms. But you could probably help me find our way to the departures, or at least out of your complex."

Tenten smiled, "That's easy. Follow the smell of burnt coffee!"

"What?"

"It's one of Shinigami's inventions. Coffee powered booster rockets. Extremely efficient. He uses this to power up the rockets in the arrivals and departures area. Trust me. I haven't gone insane yet. I know what I'm talking about."

Neji nodded. He concentrated on his sense of smell and sure enough, he was able to sell burnt coffee.

"I smell it."

"I told you so," Tenten replied cheerily, "Now let's go. No time to lose!"

"Hn."

Neji ran the fastest he had ever run. He dodged many Tianshis and furnitures and doors and soon he was at the Realm of the Royals Hallway.

"Just straight ahead and then turn right. We're almost there," Tenten whispered in Neji ear sending tingles down his spine.

Neji bit his lip to stifle a moan.

'_Damn it Tenten, not now. Later would be good though …Ugh. Stop indecent thoughts. Five hundred more metres, three hundred, two hundred, one hundred … we're almost there.'_

Neji quickly turned the corner, taking a tighter hold of Tenten so that she wouldn't fly off and then finally stopping at the Departures Gate.

"Just in time and not a moment too soon," smiled Shinigami from under his hood,

"Tianshi Tian Tian and your family. By the bravery of Hyuga Neji, I grant you the gift of life once more. May you use this gift wisely and I hope not to see you anytime soon."

Tenten jumped of Neji gracefully and then bowed deep in front of Shinigami, "On behalf of my family, we thank you for this most prestigious gift."

"You are welcome dear child but I believe that it was not because of me that you have been given this gift. I think you should thank someone else as well."

"Of course Shinigami-sama."

And with that, Tenten turned around to face the Konoha heartthrob, namely Hyuga Neji and gave him the most passionate kiss in the entire history of the whole world in which he had reciprocated just as eagerly. Due to lack of air they parted and although disappointed that it was over, they knew that there was more from where that came from.

"Thank you Neji. Thank you."

Neji just smiled at her and nuzzled her neck. He held her hand in his and together they stepped through the portal back home.

* * *

**So ... was that cliched? I think it might've been ... oh well. I hope you enjoyed it!**

**I actually have a tune for that song ... oh in case you didn't know ... that was my song, made it, on my own and I even have a set of guitar chords for it. Itsss my precsssiousss! ...Um ... nervous laughter**

**Is there anyone of you on freewebs? And if there is/are ... do you know if it's possible to dowload a song (from a mp3 player for instance) to play there on the net? I would really like to this.**

**Don't forget to review peoples! I think I only have one chappie left in this series unless I add an epilogue. Should I add an epilogue? Tell me if you want an epilogue on the reviews please!**

**Ja ne peepz and I wish you all a Happy New Year ... in roughly 5 or 6 days.**


	11. Chapter 10 Resurection

**I can't believe that this fic is finally drawing to a close. This was my first fic ever and I didn't really intend for it to be this long. Thanks to everyone who reviewed my last chappie (and of course the previous ones as well) and all those people who gave me ideas for the epilogue. Thanks also for voting whether you wanted an epilogue or not. I'm quite glad that most people wanted an epilogue** does a little dance** and so I will be doing one. **

**I'm sorry Shadw but majority rules. Don't worry, I'm not forcing you to read the epilogue. Thanks for your valuable contribution/opinion and I'll keep that in mind for my future stories. **

**Thanks also to Aireonna for your ... interesting idea. Unfortunately I can't write lemons. Well, I actually haven't tried but I'm not really a big lemons fan. I read some when I'm bored and sometimes I guess stories need a little bit of it to make it more interesting but that's about it. Limes I'll do ... but I'm not very good at it **sniff

**I'll do my final thank yous on the epilogue.**

**I hope you all enjoy the final chappie (not including the epilogue of course).**

**Please read and review!**

**morphy**

* * *

When Shikamaru had realised that they had been trapped in a Genjutsu he had formulated a plan to get them out. Once they were out, they had immediately searched for Lee, Neji and Tenten, but to no avail. Finally, Hinata shouted for them to come over. 

"What is it Hina-chan?" Naruto asked.

"I …I think I …I can see Tenten-chan a…and Lee-kun o…over b…by that t…tree. T…the really b…big one about a k…kilometre from here, b …but I d …don't see N …Neji-san a …anywhere," she stuttered.

"But I can't see anything," whined the blonde boy only to receive a whack on the head by none other than Sakura.

"Don't be stupid. You haven't got the Hyuga eyes that's why you can't see it," said an annoyed Sakura.

"Dobe," muttered Sasuke.

"I heard that teme!"

"SHUT UP," shouted all the girls except for Hinata.

Naruto then sulked behind Shikamaru who was for once, serious.

"We have to go and look for those three now. Tenten doesn't have long to live and they could be in mortal danger. I don't know how long we've been stuck in that Genjutsu so we should really go now before it's too late."

Everyone nodded in affirmation.

The Nara boy continued, "Hinata."

The said girl looked his way.

"I want you to go up front. We need you to lead us to where you saw them. Naruto, go behind her followed by Sakura, Sasuke and then Ino, I'll go take the rear."

They all did what Shikamaru said and soon they were off, this time, with Hinata in front. With their shinobi agility, they were able to arrive there in record time. But what they saw was confirmed that they were already too late.

"T …Ten-chan?" Hinata whispered, activating her Byakugan to get a better look.

She gasped and then ran towards her best friend all the while screaming her name.

"TEN-CHAN! TEN-CHAN! TEN-CHAN!"

Getting closer she noticed that her face had gone pale, too pale for her liking. Her lips had also gone blue. Hinata kneeled closer and then held Tenten's wrists to find a pulse. She found none.

"No, no, no, no," she kept on whispering, shaking her head in denial, "I ..it can't be! No. No."

By then, everyone had figured out that the Konoha Weapons Mistress … was dead. The girls had all gathered around Tenten's body, hugging her lifeless body. Shikamaru, Naruto and Sasuke stood a small distance away from the body, with their heads bowed down respectfully. And then Naruto remembered Lee.

"Guys," Naruto started but everyone else glared at him.

"Can't you see we're mourning?" answered an extremely pissed Sakura, "For once in your life would you have some respect? You're old enough to understand this, when will you start acting your age? Have some respect for the dead Naruto, have some respect."

"Respect? Respect?"

"Naruto," Sasuke hissed.

"Shut up teme and let me talk. It's you who don't have any respect. What about Lee? Or have you all forgotten about him?" Naruto taunted, "I do respect the dead and of course I respect Ten-chan, she was like an older sister to me. When you guys would laugh at me when we were younger, she was there to help me out. All I'm trying to say is … what about Lee?"

Sakura was left open mouthed. Even Sasuke had nothing to say.

"Oh," Sakura mumbled.

Naruto shrugged before he walked towards Lee's motionless body. The other boys followed him towards Lee. When they got closer though, they noticed that Lee's hands started to twitch. Naruto blinked, and then blinked again, before it finally registered to him that Lee was most likely alive. Slowly, Lee pushed himself up while the boys just stared at him dumbstruck.

"Guys?" croaked a newly awaken Lee.

"You're ALIVE!" screamed Naruto before he launched himself onto Lee, grabbing him in a tight headlock and then giving him a noogie on the head.

"Your … youth … is … aflame! But … I … must … breathe," spoke the choking spandex wearing Lee.

Naruto quickly let go of him but his trademark grin was still in place. But then Lee asked a question that quickly wiped the grin off.

"Where are my youthful comrades Naruto?"

Sasuke muttered to Shikamaru, "Are you telling him … because I'm not."

Shikamaru gave him a half glare before softening his look when he faced Lee. He sighed and gestured towards where the girls lay, prostrated upon something … or in this case, someone. Lee froze but then ran towards the girls in full speed, which was pretty damn fast. When he reached them, his knees buckled at the sight. A small no had escaped from his lips. Almost immediately, a small trickle of tears had started running down his face. The girls, knowing that Tenten and Lee were as close as if they were actual siblings, decided to scoot over to give him some space. Lee, unable to hold the rest of his tears any longer, burst into uncontrollable sobs, crying himself a river. He looked like such a sorry sight that the boys felt quite embarrassed for him while the girls just wanted to hug him to try and give him comfort.

Shikamaru sighed quietly to himself and then stepped closer to put a hand on Lee's shoulder.

"Everyone meets their maker soon," Shikamaru started, "It just so happened that Tenten's time came sooner. She's probably happier now that she's with her family. There wasn't anything you could've done and there's nothing we can do now except to give her a proper burial. We should go now."

"W …what about t …the y …youthful N …Neji? Are w …we to l …leave him as w …well?"

That caught Shikamaru by surprise. He had completely forgotten about Neji.

"I … I," Shikamaru started, hesitating to continue for he knew not what to say.

"I …I"

"You're not about to leave without me are you?" Neji said in monotone.

"You're alive?" Naruto asked in disbelief.

"Unfortunately."

"Unfortunately is right," Lee replied in a dark and hostile tone, "Where were you? Where were you when Tenten was dying? You could've done SOMETHING. You could've at least been there at her last moments. You could've …"

"… gone to Shinigami's realm, look for me, make a deal with Shinigami to get me and my clan a second chance of living. Yup. If anything else he did that," said the ghostly figure of a maiden who stepped from behind Neji to face her friends.

She had an ethereal sort of beauty that was almost goddess like, perfect oval shaped face and pale unblemished skin but the impish grin that was plastered on her face ruined her look of grace and elegance, giving her a rather mischievous aura. Her smile, although playful, surprisingly did not provide a lack of respect nor insolence for the dead. It was also quite contagious for the other shinobis had this sudden feeling wanting to smile. Lee blinked, and so did the others.

"Oh come on. I don't look that scary," she teased, in a mock-angry tone as she put her hands on her waist.

The other shinobis kept staring at her as if she was crazy.

The young woman rolled her doe-like chocolate brown eyes as lifted her hands from her waist in the direction of her head and then twisted her hair into their customary buns.

"Now do you recognise me?"

"TENTEN!" shouted the girls, Naruto and Lee.

Before Neji knew it, the people who had shouted had come running towards Tenten, therefore running towards him. Unfortunately for Neji, Tenten did not have a tangible form yet and so his friends had ended up on top of him instead.

"Get … off … me … now," hissed a pissed off Hyuga.

Tenten laughed. The others had gone completely through her. Currently, they were lying on top of the Hyuga prodigy who was giving them THE death glare. Regrettably for Neji, the effect of his glare was lost on the shinobis due to Tenten's surprise appearance. Well, except for poor Hinata who was right at the bottom of the pile, face to face with her highly menacing looking cousin. She was looking very red and frankly, extremely terrified. Luckily for her, everyone else got off the pile soon enough and they helped her up away from her dear cousin. Hinata smiled in gratitude and then reverted back her attention to Tenten's wraithlike body.

"B …but," she stammered as she looked from the eerie figure in front of her to the lifeless corpse lying afoot a tree.

"I know, I know," Tenten interrupted, "I'm not completely alive yet. Well actually, to be more precise, I'm not alive at all … yet. I need to get back to my body first and I'll also need blood sacrifice. I'm sure Neji wouldn't mind giving away some of his, cough, cough, hint, hint."

"Hn."

"Atta boy!" Tenten said cheerfully, giving Neji a hug.

"W …wait? How come the youthful Neji can touch you oh youthful flower but we can't?" said you-know-who.

"And since when do you hug him?" asked the ever so oblivious blonde.

Tenten smiled, "It's a long story …"

Lee and Naruto gave her the puppy pout.

She sighed, "… which I'll tell everyone when we get back to Konoha."

Lee and Naruto's face broke into identical grins and they linked arms and spun around in circles, acting like the little kids they were. The girls laughed at their antics.

Shikamaru coughed once and everyone looked at him, "If you haven't noticed … it's almost dawn and frankly I haven't had much sleep. We should get Tenten back to her body and get the hell out of here. I want some shut eye soon."

"H …he's r …right," Hinata stuttered, "I t …think we've a …all had a l …long day a …and it's p …probably time f …for us t …o get some s …sleep."

Everyone else nodded in agreement. Shortly, Neji moved towards the dead body and then flipped it so that it's lying on its back. Tenten then walked towards her stiff corpse, placed both her feet in their right places, sat down, gave a final wave and then disappeared into the depths of her body. Quickly, Neji knelt beside her and sliced a small layer of skin right above where her heart should be. Hinata and Ino flinched. He then cut a small slit in his right palm and swiftly placed his bleeding palm on top of the earlier cut he made on Tenten. Then, as the blood flowed from him to Tenten, he placed his left hand on top his right and then started pumping. It didn't seem to be working.

'_Shit, what else did Shinigami say before we left?' _he thought, and then suddenly he remembered.

"Lee, come here," he ordered.

Lee came.

"Have you still got the any of the hankies Tenten gave you on your birthday last year?"

"Hai. I always bring two with me."

"Good. Now I want you to grab one in each hand and then rub them as fast as you can against your leg warmers."

Everyone stared at Neji as if he was insane. But Lee just smiled, happy to be of assistance.

"Okay."

Lee proceeded to do what Neji asked him to do without question and soon he felt some sparks.

"Oh youthful comrade," Lee began, still rubbing he hankies against his leg warmers, "I am feeling a tingling sensation on my arms. Is this …. "

"Perfect. Now I want you to jumpstart her heart."

Sakura lifted an eyebrow and thought, _'That was …a very unorthodox way of doing it. But nevertheless … good improvisation."_

Lee looked at Neji for a brief second before it dawned on him what the purpose of doing what he did was. He complied. Neji kept doing what he was doing as Lee repeated his actions. Time seemed to pass by slowly and it didn't look like anything was happening at all. Neji was starting to get worried and so were the others. But out of the blue, they heard a small cough come from Tenten, then another and another until all of a sudden her eyes popped open.

"TENTEN-CHAN!" Lee yelled in delight and was about to give her a bone crushing hug when Neji stopped her.

"She still has an open wound. I'll have to seal it first."

Lee blushed and looked sheepish.

"Let me," Sakura volunteered, "I can do it so that she won't be left with a scar."

Neji nodded and then stepped aside. Sakura then took his place. Her hand grew a bright green as she sealed the cut.

"There, done!" Sakura grinned.

Tenten smiled in gratitude, "Thanks Sakura. Could you also heal Neji's palm?"

"Sure."

Neji looked as if he was about to say no but one glower from Tenten put him in his place. He sighed, defeated.

'_What __did__ those two get up to?' Sakura smirked inwardly, 'This would be such an awesome gossip when we get home. I better find out before Ino-pig does.'_

Sakura then grabbed Neji's hand and proceed to heal him making Sasuke jealous. Tenten looked at the situation and grinned. She was about to say something to Sasuke, telling him not to worry because Neji was hers when Lee did something that was long overdue … and that was to give her a bone-crushing bear hug. Tenten laughed gleefully in his arms.

On the side, Neji smiled a small, almost invisible smile and thought, _'Glad you're back home …my heaven sent.'

* * *

_**So ... whaddya think? I personally thought the ending was kinda random and ... mushy, but you be the judge. **

**I would really love your opinion!**

**Ja ne**


	12. Epilogue

**So sorry it took me ages to update. The internet crashed ... again. I've already finished typing up the epilogue but ... I couldn't upload it due to the lack of internet connection. Apparently, the IP address got changed. My parents naturally blamed me. sigh**

**Anyway, as I said on the previous chappie, I was going to say all my thanks here in my epilogue. So, here it is. Clears throat cough cough takes a deep breath**

**Morphy-chan thanks everyone who has read my story, favourited it, favourited me, put it on alert, put me on alert and, most importantly, reviewed. **

**Special thanks to these people for reviewing me (well, my work actually but you know what I mean):- **

**Ishasuki Mitochi, Nerd4eva, Carly-chan, Aireonna, Amaya Zorifuki, wolfie, Shadw, Kunoichi Hyuuga Tenten, Tennie-chan, ****whitephoenix13, Mistress of the Dark- Elements, kirei hana35, shining kitsune, Mako.Ten, SerenityWeapons, Imuzuok, A Forgotten Fairy, blacksinger, CryingRosex3, Kratos Wilder, mappsgo, I.heart.Hatake.Kakashi, Sorcer-Cross, loves-emo-guys-with-hair, Lolakitten8, Sorcer-Cross, SerenityWeapons, Toad321, DemonTwins-Ichigo-Makuri, Matahari **

**I hope you guys (and girls ... you know what I mean) enjoy the epilogue and my future stories. I just want to write a one shot first and then I'll continue with my other story, Sealed Secrets. Many thanks again.**

**anthropomorphichybrid**

**PS: Belated Happy New Year to everyone!**

**PPS: Please review! I'd really like it if I made 100 reviews (at least). I'm not forcing you to review me but at I'd absolutely appreciate it if you gave time to say something. You can even criticise me if you want although I really don't want a flame. Any review (apart from a flame) would make my day a lot brighter. Thanks in advance!**

* * *

It had only been six months ago since Tenten had been said to be 'clinically' dead but was brought back to life due to a deal with Shinigami. Tenten and Neji had been going out since then, but of course, not in the usual fashion. They mostly kept up the façade of being just team mates even though some people have already noticed that they have grown a lot closer from their three day ordeal. They never held hands in public, nor give loving and adoring smiles at each other. But then again, Neji doesn't really smile. The only people they have actually told of their 'couple' status are Lee and Hinata. It had taken a lot of pointy weapons and evil glares before the couple had made sure that Lee doesn't spread the word around or even tell Gai-sensei. Don't get Tenten wrong, she has kept her promise about telling the rest of the Konoha Twelve what happened … just not the every detail.

The two of them still spar against each other although the rumour is that Neji is the one who is usually sent to the hospital, though it's against his own will. Although I must say, if you're unconscious … you generally don't get a lot of say in things. After a few training sessions, Neji and Tenten have decided to move to a different training location due to many complaints about the ecological and environmental destruction of the Konoha forestry. Since then, nobody has ever seen them during a training session. Well, from time to time, they do hear an odd BOOM or two from somewhere within the depths of the woods and apparently, sometimes, they get tremors on the ground coming from the direction of where Tenten and Neji are supposedly training.

I guess you're wondering how exactly they show their affection for each other. Well, fortunately for you, an extremely, mentally deranged and highly daring blonde loud mouth had decided to investigate for himself. He was scarred for life. And no, not in THAT sense you perverted freaks out there. He was literally scarred for life due to being almost poked to death by Neji using a more advanced kind of Gentle Fist.

Now let me explain Neji's new and improved Gentle Fist. Imagine a meteor coming down to earth and finally hitting solid ground, now, in its impact, a crater is formed. But not only that, places kilometres away may also feel the tremors and it may cause large earthquakes. Land that was previously stuck together is now split and opened. Now, to compare it with the Gentle Fist, we must start with the meteor a.k.a. Neji's finger. As Neji closes a tenketsu, Naruto's in this case, the impact of that affects the nearby organs, muscles and veins. Depending on how nasty Neji feels like being, the effect of this could be deadly. He could split any organ, muscle or vein, either killing you instantly or giving you internal bleeding. He has dubbed this style, the Eight Trigrams Raining Meteors.

Anyway, if not for Tenten knocking Neji out, Naruto might've died. Because of an unconscious Neji, Tenten had to carry Naruto all the way back to civilisation. Poor girl. So what might've they been doing? Well, Naruto was not going to say anything, he wasn't quite that suicidal but luckily, someone else was there.

_Flashback_

_Naruto, being the dare devil that he was, decided to go and look for Neji and Tenten so that he could answer for himself some of the questions that had been bugging him and the rest of the Konoha Twelve, not including Lee and Hinata of course. Soon, he had reached the clearing where he first heard signs of fighting. He paused by some thick bushes and then hid beneath them. He slowly pushed his head through a small gap and peeked. _

_Tenten was flitting in and out of the shadows faster than you could say, 'Boo' and frankly, Neji was getting pissed. Not only had Tenten improved after her memory had been returned, she was also beating the Hyuga prodigy … by a mile, might I add. Sure, Neji was proud that Tenten was his (although he won't say this outright for the fear of getting castrated), but his damn male superiority complex just won't let him give in. _

'_She's playing with me,' he thought angrily._

"_Aww, come on Neji-kuns don't be mad at me. It's not like you didn't do this to me when we used to train and you were the stronger one."_

_If Neji wasn't himself, he would've blushed in shame, but this is Neji we're talking about. _

'_Damn woman. She can read me like a book.'_

"_If it makes you feel any better, you're not as easy to read as most people."_

_Neji swore under his breath. _

_Due to the Tianshi bloodline limit, Tenten is now able to read people's intentions and feelings. She may not be able to actually know what goes through your head but because she can accurately read your body language and your emotions she can usually correctly perceive what you are about to do making her one hell of an opponent. Out of nowhere, five kunais flew towards Neji, embedding themselves by his spine, right on his blind spot. _

_Naruto bit back his need to blurt out something._

"_Aaargh," Neji screamed in pain, "Are you trying to kill me Tenten?"_

"_Love you too honey," Tenten smiled, finally stopping, to sit on one of the branches, "But you seriously have to learn how to defend yourself if I'm not there to protect your blind spot. I mean, if I'm not there …"_

"_Hakke Kūshō."_

_Naruto's eyes widened. 'Wait, Tenten just said she loved him but Neji still attacked her, sending her body flying pretty damn far. I don't get it.'_

"_Love you too baby," Neji smirked, when his aim had hit Tenten directly, "You really should watch out for yourself. I might not always be there to defend you."_

_But then, the Tenten he had hit had suddenly changed to a rock. Tenten had used a substitution jutsu._

_Naruto released a quiet sigh of relief. 'So Tenten-chan didn't really get hit. That's good. But hey! Neji said he loved her too a…and he called her baby. What?'_

'_God that woman,' Neji thought before he whirled round and ducked as Tenten's katana whooshed above his head._

_Once again, Naruto's eyes bulged. 'What the hell? They're both trying to kill each other! I though Sakura-chan said that the two were supposed to be in denial about their love for each other. And from what I have heard, they love each other. But why are they trying to rip each other to shreds?'_

"_Tut, tut, tut, don't be too cocky dear," Tenten smirked as stuck the Katana on the ground and used her momentum to propel her legs towards Neji's unprotected self._

_She made contact, only to realise that it was a shadow clone. The real Neji had somehow hid himself by the bushes next to him and so now, Tenten was within his range, enabling him to perform his trademark attack._

"_Now look who's cocky," he smirked before launching his Eight Trigrams One Hundred and Twenty-Eight Palms. _

_Tenten's body was attacked without mercy and soon, blood was spilling on the side of her lip._

_Naruto hadn't realised this, but by now, he was silently whimpering at what he had seen. 'This isn't right. When you love someone you don't hurt them … but …'_

_Naruto wasn't able to finish his thoughts because Tenten had suddenly broken through Neji's Trigram and had pinned Neji to a tree. Unfortunately for Neji, when Tenten pinned him, it wasn't just his clothes that she'd pinned, it also included some of his skin. Neji let out a grunt of pain. Soon a dishevelled and bleeding Tenten was walking closer and closer towards Neji with a kunai in hand._

_Naruto's jaw dropped open. 'I've heard from Jiraya about lovers who show their love through pain or something but I thought that was just a bed activity. I think he had called it …sago … sado …masoprism …masochism! Sado masochism! Or something like that anyway. Wait …so they do love each other! But this is sick … I __must__ stop it!' And with that single minded thought, Naruto stood up and yelled._

"_STOP! In the name of love STOP!"_

_Neji and Tenten turned towards Naruto with a glare that could probably cause Mt Fuji's downfall. _

_Naruto began talking, quick, " I …I know you two are sado masochistic people but this has to stop! This is not love! This is a poor imitation of it … I mean …"_

_But Naruto was unable to finish his sentence. As he said the words sado and masochistic, Neji began to develop a very menacing aura. Soon he had used his new technique Eight Trigrams Rianing Meteors, poking Naruto to almost certain death. Fortunately for Naruto, Tenten intervened. She knocked out Neji and then carried Naruto all the way to the hospital. But as she left, the person in hiding heard her mutter a few words._

"_Oh for god's sakes, just because Neji shows his love for me by letting me know that I'm his equal or even more, does not make him and me masochistic people. Stupid blonde and his perverted sensei, putting stupid thoughts in his stupid head …" _

Yes. It's true. Neji shows his love through respect. What a gentleman. Anyway, enough reminiscing about the past, what's more important is what's about to happen today.

It was a normal day for Konoha. Naruto is eating ramen with Hinata at Ichiraku's, Sakura's chasing Sasuke and our two heroes are busy trying to cut each other's throats. Ah, yes. Everthing is perfectly normal until a loud trumpet sound was heard from a far. Before long, a medium sized procession had come walking in the middle of Konoha's streets. They wore dark, navy coloured qipaos and cheongsams with golden fabric sewed on at the linings. They all had brown hair but the shade of brown differed for each person. All had kind, smiling faces that was so contagious, everyone in Konoha smiled as well. Even Sasuke had some sort of half smirk half smile thing going on. Towards the middle part of the procession, there was a grand, carriage which was decorated with many intricate designs. There was an ample amount of gems, positioned all over the carriage to show off the wealth and importance of that family but what caught the villagers and the shinobi's attentions was the emblem placed at the back of their clothing. At that moment, the Hokage herself had decided to go on a quiet stroll. Hearing the trumpet call and the wheels of a carriage she had immediately fixed herself up and walked towards the head of the procession.

'_Trumpets and carriages? Must be an important family seeking the aid of Konoha shinobis. This should be good money.'_

With a formal bow, she had caused the procession to stop.

"Welcome to Konoha," Tsunade greeted, "Is there anything we could do to help you?"

There was a quiet shuffling sound at the back as the guards lifted up the top of the carriage. Once they had fully opened the top, a tall and handsome man stood up. He had long, silky, dark auburn hair that was bound at the nape by several strands of golden thread. He also had a fringe which was parted right in the middle and fell loosely at each side, just reaching his chin. He had a lovely set of hazel eyes that seemed to flicker between green and brown at random intervals and lips that quirked when he smiled. He didn't seem to be very old, maybe in his late thirties or early forties. Overall, he seemed like such a soft and gentle man, but when he spoke, his voice gave off authority and power.

"I thank you for your kind welcome. The Tianshi Clan are pleased to hear that you welcome us into your open arms."

The crowd gasped at the mention of such a prestigious clan. It was not everyday that anyone sees a person of the Tianshi family. The Tianshi people are so secretive and mysterious that no one really knows anything about them. But what puzzled some of them was how come the Tianshi Clan is here? Weren't they supposed to have been killed of by the Huangying Clan? Even Tsunade was a bit taken aback but she soon recovered from her shock.

"O-of course you are welcome. The town of Konoha is at your disposal."

The handsome man smiled.

"I am Lord Dao and this is my wife Lady Chichi," he introduced as his wife stood up beside him.

Lady Chichi was a beautiful woman. She had a soft, oval face and bright shining chocolate orbs. Her smile was as radiant as the sun and extremely contagious. Although her clothing is very modest, her figure was still visible through her qipao. Her husband indicated that she continues, she nodded in gratitude and then spoke.

"You had asked earlier if there was anything you could do to help us. I do believe there is," she paused, her musical voice echoing through the silent Konoha town.

"Oh. Anything your Lady," Tsunade answered respectfully, awed at the slender woman's soft, yet, commanding voice.

Lady Chichi smiled, "My husband and I were wondering where the Hyuga Compound would be. We would like to have a meeting the head of the Hyuga Clan."

Tsunade blinked at the interesting request but immediately complied.

"I shall send a runner to warn Hiashi-sama and I shall get my apprentice to lead the way there."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Tsunade then signalled to a messenger nearby and he nodded to show understanding. Soon, he was off to the Hyuga Compound. She then, indicated to Sakura that she come forward in order too lead the way. Sakura nervously stepped in and bowed in front of the Tianshi Leaders.

"Right this way Lord Dao and Lady Chichi."

And with that she escorted the Tianshi Clan towards the Hyuga Compound. The passer-by's bowed respectfully as they passed and the Tianshi leaders smiled in response. By the time they reached the compound, Hiashi had already prepared for their arrival

"I can take it from her Sakura."

Sakura smiled gratefully.

Hiashi then directed his attention to the Tianshi Clan, "Greetings from the Hyuga Clan. Please, come inside. The servants have prepared refreshments."

The Tianshi leaders smiled and then proceeded to step off the carriage. Hiashi then led the Lord and Lady through the confusing interior of the Hyuga Compound. Finally, they sat down in one of the large, private meeting rooms. The servants poured them all some tea before finally being told to leave by Hiashi. Lord Dao then spoke first.

"We thank you Hiashi-sama for taking us in at such short notice. We apologise if this meeting is of poor timing."

"You have nothing to apologise, the presence of a legendary clan has given this family the highest of honours already. May I ask what we can do for you?"

Dao and Chichi looked at each other before Chichi finally spoke.

"We have come to seek … family alliance."

"In what way do you seek alliance?"

"Marriage," both the Lady and Lord said.

Hiashi remained impassive but inside he was confused as to why an already legendary clan would want an alliance with a slightly weaker clan.

"May I ask why?"

This time, Dao spoke.

"Our daughter has had her eye on your nephew for sometime. She has just recently turned sixteen and we had realised that soon, she must be married in order to produce more children for the next generation. Since my wife and I haven't got any ideas on who we should marry our child to, we came to an agreement that she should be allowed to choose who she marries when she comes of age. We have made enquiries and investigations on her desired suitor and were quite pleased with her choice. He seems like a strong, good-looking young man who is only eight months her senior. Would you have any objections to their union?"

Hiashi wasn't too surprised. He's already had a lot of possible suitors for Neji but he had turned them all down. They were all too weak, useless and snobby; what's more, those people were generally power hungry nobles who want the Hyuga secrets. Well, they weren't going to get it that easily; besides, he had a soft spot for Neji's bun-haired team mate. He sighed.

'_Just when I get an offer that's hard to resist, I grow soft. I'm going to regret this for sure but I want Neji to have the choice of marrying whomever he wants …just like my brother.'_

He grimaced, "Unfortunately, I believe my nephew has already taken a liking to someone. As much as I'd love to accept your offer for it would bring my family great honour, it is not for me to decide."

Lord Dao quirked his eyebrow.

"May I ask who it is that has captured the heart of your nephew?"

"It's a young girl named Tenten. They have been team mates since they were quite young and I'm sure that both love each other deeply although neither shows affection."

Lady Chichi chipped in, "What if we said that we'll take care of the girl? Will you agree to our arrangements?"

Hiashi was appalled even though he did not show it.

'_This … is the well-known Tianshi Clan? A clan of peace and harmony? I don't believe it?'_

"I-I'm sorry but I cannot accept. That girl has worked hard to soften up my nephew's heart and I'd rather not have her work go to waste. I'm extremely sorry but I must say no. Forgive me your Lord and Lady."

Just then, a soft knock was heard.

"Would you excuse me?"

Dao and Chichi nodded. Hiashi then stood up to go and get the door only to see the two people they had been talking about earlier.

"What is it?" Hiashi asked calmly.

Tenten blinked, confused and so Neji spoke for her.

"We were told by a messenger to come here Hiashi-sama."

It was then Hiashi's turn to blink. But then, Lady Chichi spoke.

"If it's alright Hiashi-sama, I would like you to let then enter and join the conversation."

Tenten's ears perked at the sound but Hiashi did not notice.

"Of course."

Hiashi then ushered the two teens inside. But before he could shut the door, the leaders of the Tianshi Clan had stood up and attacked the bun-haired girl. Well, that was what Hiashi thought anyway. He was about to retaliate against them although deep inside him he knew he was no match for the two of them when he heard the quiet murmurings of love coming from the Dao and Chichi. He blinked once more. It seemed as if the Lord and Lady didn't actually attack Tenten … only hug her. By now, Hiashi was confused. He looked over to his nephew to see if he was as confused as he was. But he just became surprised. Hiashi had to do a double take to make sure that his eyes weren't deceiving him. There stood Neji, smiling!

"Don't look too shocked," teased Lady Chichi, smiling as she did so.

Hiashi stood dumbfounded for once in his life. Tenten gave him a small smile before things finally clicked.

'_That smile … Tenten has it too? W-wait? Tenten's their daughter?'_

Lord Dao flashed a cheeky grin, one that Hiashi has seen countless of times on Tenten and then spoke, "It seems to me as if you've finally realised who our daughter is. Does this mean you'll change your mind about the … proposal?"

"What proposal?" Neji and Tenten chorused.

Lady Chichi answered, "We had proposed to Hiashi a Clan coalition through a marriage between you two but it seems as if he didn't want it. Apparently, Neji already has his eye on a certain team mate of his and he thought Neji should have a choice on who to marry."

Neji was surprised. He didn't know that his uncle had actually cared about his feelings or him for that matter. Then Tenten blurted out something completely out of the blue.

"Neji likes LEE?"

This caused Lord Dao to laugh out loud and Hiashi to smirk. Neji just gave Tenten a small glare as his lips unintentionally formed a sulky pout as he crossed his arms.

Tenten grinned, "You know I'm kidding."

The adults laughed once more.

"This still hasn't answered my husband's question though. So what do you say Hiashi-sama?"

He smiled, "As I have said earlier, this is not for me to decide. Neji? What do you think?"

Neji looked at Hiashi, then to the Tianshi leaders and finally, to Tenten.

"It would be an honour and a privilege."

"That's a yes isn't it?" asked our bun-haired kunoichi.

"Hai."

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's plan a wedding!" Tenten's mother announced.

Soon, the parents left the two teenagers alone in the room. Neji smirked at Tenten seductively and then purred in her ear.

"Does this mean we can do what we want now?"

Tenten blushed prettily, but then recovered soon enough. She laughed and then captured his lips in a deep and passionate kiss. When they parted, she spoke.

"Sure. But if you get me pregnant before we're married … my dad will probably kill you."

"I'll risk it."

And with that, Neji shut the door and the kissing fest continued.

* * *

**Please review! I know this is really annoying ... but I'd love a review!**

**Ja ne ... and thanks for all your support with my story!**


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